UPSC Mains 2018 GS4 Q9 — Case Study: Social Issues
It is a State where prohibition is in force. You are recently appointed as the Superintendent of Police of a district notorious for illicit distillation of liquor. The illicit liquor leads to many deaths, reported and unreported, and causes a major problem for the district authorities. The approach till now had been to view it as a law and order problem and tackle it accordingly. Raids, arrests, police cases, criminal trials – all these had only limited impact. The problem remains as serious as ever. Your inspections show that the parts of the district where the distillation flourishes are economically, industrially and educationally backward. Agriculture is badly affected by poor irrigation facilities. Frequent clashes among communities gave boost to illicit distillation. No major initiatives had taken place in the past either from the government’s side or from social organizations to improve the lot of the people. Which new approach will you adopt to bring the problem under control ? (250 words)
Question Decoded — examiner's intent
- Directive verbs
- adoptbring the problem under control
- Scope keywords
- prohibition is in forceillicit distillationlaw and order problemeconomically, industrially and educationally backwardpoor irrigation facilitiesfrequent clashes among communities
- Implicit sub-parts
- Critique of the existing 'Law and Order' approach and why it failed.
- Identification of root causes: Socio-economic deprivation vs. criminal intent.
- Designing a multi-sectoral strategy: Convergence of police, development, and social engineering.
- Short-term enforcement vs. Long-term rehabilitation and alternative livelihoods.
- Ethical considerations of state-enforced prohibition in a resource-scarce environment.
- Common pitfalls
- Focusing too heavily on police raids and 'stricter laws' which the prompt already identifies as ineffective.
- Ignoring the specific mention of irrigation and agriculture, which are key to providing alternative livelihoods.
- Failing to address the 'frequent clashes among communities' as a trigger for the illicit trade.
- Providing a generic 'awareness campaign' solution without tackling the underlying economic backwardness.
- Dimensions required
- Socio-Economic DevelopmentBehavioral EthicsAdministrative ConvergenceCommunity PolicingLivelihood Security
- Marks allocation hint
Spend about 50 words identifying the crisis and the failure of the current punitive model. Devote 150 words to the 'New Approach' by creating specific headers for economic rehabilitation (irrigation/industry), social cohesion (clash resolution), and community-led monitoring. Use the final 50 words to justify this shift from 'Power-over' to 'Power-with' the community.
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