UPSC Mains 2023 GS3 Q9 — Internal Security
Winning of 'Hearts and Minds' in terrorism-affected areas is an essential step in restoring the trust of the population. Discuss the measures adopted by the Government in this respect as part of the conflict resolution in Jammu and Kashmir. (Answer in 150 words )
Question Decoded — examiner's intent
- Directive verbs
- Discuss
- Scope keywords
- Winning of 'Hearts and Minds'terrorism-affected areasrestoring the trust of the populationmeasures adopted by the Governmentconflict resolution in Jammu and Kashmir
- Implicit sub-parts
- The theoretical link between popular trust and the decline of kinetic (armed) insurgency.
- Specific soft-power initiatives by the Indian Army (Operation Sadbhavana) and civilian administration.
- The role of infrastructure, education, and sports in neutralizing radicalization narratives.
- An assessment of how these measures integrate with hard-security operations to create a 'holistic' approach.
- Common pitfalls
- Focusing too much on the history of the J&K conflict or Article 370 rather than specific 'Hearts and Minds' measures.
- Ignoring the role of the Indian Army (Operation Sadbhavana) and focusing only on political schemes.
- Failing to mention the recent transition toward grassroots democracy, such as Panchayat elections and the Back to Village program.
- Providing a generic list of development schemes without linking them to 'trust-building' and 'deradicalization'.
- Dimensions required
- Security (Kinetic vs. Non-kinetic)Socio-economic (Education/Employment)Institutional (Grassroots Governance)Psychological (Counter-radicalization and Sports)Infrastructure (Connectivity and Digital Access)
- Marks allocation hint
Spend 20 words on the 'Hearts and Minds' philosophy as a counter-insurgency tool. Use 100 words to detail specific Government and Army measures (Sadbhavana, PMDP, sports, elections). Use the final 30 words to evaluate the impact on stability and the path forward for sustainable peace.
Unlock the full analysis for this question
You've seen the question and its examiner-intent decoding. Subscribers also get:
- 🔗 Similar Previous Year Questions — cross-year, cross-paper matches so you study the topic, not the question
- 📚 Source Map — verified citations from Laxmikanth, NCERT, PRS, Yojana, Economic Survey, Spectrum
- 🌱 How this topic is evolving — current-affairs bridge anchored to live TARS news clustering
- 🧭 Examiner's Pattern — how the topic has been framed across every year UPSC has tested it
- ✍️ Answer Skeleton — a structured outline (intro → body → conclusion) you can flesh out
- 🎯 AI evaluation — write your answer, get rubric-based scoring from gs-eval
Or browse 132+ free preview questions across all years and papers — the first 3 questions of every paper are unlocked.
Ready to practice?
Subscribers can attempt this question in 150 words and get an instant, rubric-based evaluation showing where they stand.
Subscribe to evaluate your answer →