1. Is coalition
politics here to stay?
The following points could be discussed under this topic:
Nature of coalition politics. Indecisiveness of elections. No particular party
is getting the peoples mandate. Advantage of coalition politics in enabling
formation of government. Flipside of coalition politics- a party with a handful
of seats become powerful. Government falls before tenure. Fresh elections each
time. Suggest a way out of this problem, for e.g.: once a party pledges support
to a coalition, it will not withdraw its support until it has watched a
governments performance for at least three years...etc The future -will it only
have coalitions ,emerging political trends...etc...
2. Does India need a
dictator?
The following points could be discussed under this topic:
The current political structure. Drawbacks of it. Bureaucracy, layers in
decision making, anarchy. Dictatorship would mean centralized power and faster
decision making. But, country run on whims and fancies of an individual. Freedom
on individuals could be clamped. .etc....Present a balanced argument for and
against and take up your position on the issue.
3. Is India moving away
from a secularist state?
The following points could be discussed under this topic:
Define secularism. Constitution calls our country such a state, but how things
have changed over the last 50 years. Spread of nationalism. Division into
majority and minority groups-e.g. benefits given to minority groups perceived as
a threat by others. Role of non-tolerant neighbors in fuelling fundamentalism.
It is a passing phenomenon. We have the national character to overcome
this....Points along these lines can be discussed.
4. Education in
India-or the lack of it.
The following points could be discussed under this topic:
Discuss current education system. Discuss our sociological structure. Poverty
which forces kids to drop out to supplement family income. Vicious
circle-poverty due to lack of education and vice versa. Suggest solutions to get
out of this-for e.g., governments are doing a commendable job with the midday
meal schemes but we need more of such efforts. Going down further , why restrict
it to government alone? why cant private people, NGOs and other voluntary bodies
come forward to do the same? How about tapping corporate funds for such causes
.etc.
5. What ails Indian
sports?
The following points could be discussed under this topic:
A nation of 950 million, we fail to produce great champions barring the
occasional Vishwanathan Anand or Geet Sethi. Sports system steeped in
bureaucracy. Overriding popularity of cricket leading to neglect in other
sports. Traditionally , sports not accorded much importance by us as a career.
Need to develop sports from the primary school level-"catch them young". Various
incentives to be given to budding sportsmen like academic credits, sports in
lieu of a few other subjects etc. Development of sports infrastructure, making
it amenable and affordable...etc.....
6. The Age of
Information.
The following points could be discussed under this topic:
Today a plethora of sources to provide information-Newspapers, radio,
Television, Internet etc. Information available at the touch of a button.
Greater decision making power to the individual. Also easier decision making
for the individual. Information is the key to ones success today. One who is
more informed forges ahead. The flipside-information overkill. At times
deciding is tough due to too much information ...etc.....
7. Is Philosophy
just arm chair theory?
(This is an example of an abstract topic which is thrown up to students once
in a while by the examiners)
The following points could be discussed under this topic:
Talk what you know about this topic . Talk of its relevance in day to day
life( or irrelevance if you feel so..). Talk of its influence in literature
e.g. Influence of Kant on the romantic poets especially Wordsworth or of Bacon
, Voltaire et al on the "Enlightenment" period etc. Talk of its influence in
politics e.g. Influence of Nietszche on Hitler and subsequent genocide during
Nazi regime etc. Talk of ethics and morals and their importance in life. talk
of Indian philosophy. the Gita . Discuss whether we use any of these in our
lives and their importance in moldings our values...etc...
8. Success is all
about human relations
The following points could be discussed under this topic:
The most important skill for success in to have people on your side. One can
get a lot of work done by superiority and hierarchy but one cannot be a leader
of men unless one maintains excellent human relations. Its importance not only
in professional life but personal life too. Knowledge and expertise does one
no good if one cannot maintain proper human relations...etc.....
9. Borderless
worlds-Dream or reality?
The following points could be discussed under this topic:
Globalization of business. Opening up of the various economies. Cross cultural
exchanges. More and more people getting an opportunity to work in different
lands among different peoples and absorbing a bit of their values and culture.
This leads to greater tolerance and understanding of others' problems. The
other side-people despite all this have nationalistic and regionalist
chauvinism . A world divided into first, second and third worlds. People still
talk of "their" economy and not world economy. Europe has shown a step in this
direction with EU but its feasibility remains to be seen. So while people
clamor for globalization, they still think only in terms of their national
interests...etc...
10. Quality is a
myth in India.
The following points could be discussed under this topic:
The Indian products and manufacturing techniques. Why are we unable to sustain
against global competition. Our mindset towards quality. Indian attitude of
"chalta hai" which leads to an undemanding customer which in turn lets people
get away with substandard products and services. Today competition is forcing
our industry to adhere to global standards so we are getting there in terms of
quality. Examples of our software industry which is recognized for its ability
to meet global standards etc. Since the topic is general, we can extrapolate
it to our quality of life-the air , the water , the facilities we have, the
infrastructure we have, the services we get and put up with ....etc......
