Our attitudes towards life, work, other people and society are generally shaped unconsciously by the family and the social surroundings in which we grow up. Some of these unconsciously acquired attitudes and values are often undesirable in the citizens of a modern democratic and egalitarian society.
- (a)Discuss such undesirable values prevalent in today’s educated Indians.
- (b)How can such undesirable attitudes be changed and socio-ethical values considered necessary in public services be cultivated in the aspiring and serving civil servants ?
Approach · directive: “discuss / how can”
What it asks · (a) Identify undesirable values that educated Indians often carry; (b) explain how such attitudes can be changed and how public-service values can be built in aspiring and serving civil servants.
The question has 2 parts — answer each
- (a) Discuss the undesirable values prevalent in today's educated Indians
- (b) Explain how such attitudes can be changed and how socio-ethical values needed in public services can be cultivated in aspiring and serving civil servants
Open with · Attitudes are learnt early and silently, so prejudices and habits from family and society can survive even in highly educated people.
Cover
- (a) Discriminatory attitudes: caste and communal prejudice, patriarchal views about women, preference for sons and acceptance of dowry.
- (a) Civic attitudes: tolerance of corruption and rule-breaking as normal ('chalta hai'), littering, disrespect for public property, queue-jumping and VIP culture.
- (a) Work and status: disdain for manual labour, obsession with status and consumption, and apathy to public issues, such as not voting or not reporting wrongdoing.
- (b) Change through learning: value education in family and school, role models, and exposure to different communities that reduces prejudice.
- (b) Change through persuasion and law: campaigns, social reform movements, strict laws with enforcement, and incentives, with self-reflection and discussion to resolve inner conflict.
- (b) Civil servants: ethics-based selection and training, foundation and mid-career training, case-study and fieldwork exposure, mentoring by exemplary seniors and value-linked appraisal.
- (b) Institutional support: clear codes of conduct, visible action against misconduct, leadership by example and protection for the honest.
Close with · Attitudes are learnt, so they can be unlearnt: family, education, law and training working together can replace prejudice with constitutional values in citizens and civil servants.
Add value (verified)
- B.R. Ambedkar, Constituent Assembly, 4 November 1948: constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment and has to be cultivated; democracy in India is only a top-dressing on undemocratic soil. Constituent Assembly Debates, 4 November 1948 — constitutionofindia.net ↗“Constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment. It has to be cultivated. We must realize that our people have yet to learn it. Democracy in India is only a top-dressing on an Indian soil, which is essentially undemocratic.”
- NFHS-5 (2019-21): sex ratio at birth for children born in the last five years was 929 females per 1,000 males (urban 924, rural 931; NFHS-4: 919). National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-21), India Fact Sheet — MoHFW / IIPS (archived copy) ↗“4. Sex ratio at birth for children born in the last five years (females per 1,000 males) 924 931 929 919”
- The 2nd ARC's 10th Report notes the view that grooming for public service should start young, as late entrants bring entrenched mindsets. Second Administrative Reforms Commission, 10th Report: Refurbishing of Personnel Administration (DARPG, archived copy) ↗“grooming for a future civil service career should start at a young age when the mind is open and receptive to values of public service whereas entrants into civil service at a late age bring with them a ‘baggage’ of entrenched mindsets.”
- The training policy cited by the 2nd ARC's 10th Report lists 'right attitudinal orientation' among the objectives of training. Second Administrative Reforms Commission, 10th Report: Refurbishing of Personnel Administration (DARPG, archived copy) ↗“a. Keeping up-to-date and enhancing professional knowledge and skills needed for better performance of individuals and organisations; b. Promoting better understanding of professional requirements as well as sensitisation to professional, socio-economic and political environment in which work is done; and c. Bringing about right attitudinal orientation”
- Mission Karmayogi (National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building, approved by the Cabinet in September 2020) aims at a transition from 'rules based' to 'roles based' HR management. Cabinet approves Mission Karmayogi — PIB, 2 September 2020 ↗“Integrated Government Online Training-iGOTKarmayogi Platform. The core guiding principles of the Programme will be: Supporting Transition from 'Rules based' to 'Roles based* HR Management.”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2016, GS Paper IV — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 380 words (UPSC limit 150) · Minimalist IAS
"Constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment. It has to be cultivated," Ambedkar told the Constituent Assembly. Attitudes absorbed silently from family and neighbourhood often lag behind the Constitution, even among the highly educated.
(a) Undesirable values prevalent among today's educated Indians
- Caste and communal prejudice: social distance in marriage, housing, hiring and food survives university degrees.
- Patriarchy: son preference, dowry treated as custom, control over women's mobility and work; the sex ratio at birth was only 929 girls per 1,000 boys in NFHS-5 (2019-21).
- 'Chalta hai' civic laxity: tolerance of petty corruption, queue-jumping, littering and a VIP culture that expects exemption from rules.
- Double standards: demanding honesty from the State while evading tax, paying bribes for convenience and using influence for admissions or postings.
- Status over dignity of labour: contempt for manual work and those who do it; consumption as the measure of worth.
- Apathy: not voting, not reporting wrongdoing, silence at harassment in public.
- Why education missed them: schools taught facts, not reflection on values, so private prejudice coexists with public degrees.
(b) Changing such attitudes and cultivating public-service values
- Society at large: contact across caste, faith and region dissolves stereotypes; campaigns that make the desired act the social norm; laws that are actually enforced; families and schools that reward honesty, not marks alone.
- Start young: the 2nd ARC's 10th Report notes the view that grooming for public service should begin early, since late entrants bring "a 'baggage' of entrenched mindsets".
- Aspiring civil servants: an ethics paper and interviews that probe attitudes; case studies, village stays and district attachments that build empathy for the poor.
- Training with a purpose: official training aims at "right attitudinal orientation", not only skills; ethics should run through every phase, not one lecture.
- Serving officers: Mission Karmayogi (since 2020) moves capacity building from 'rules based' to 'roles based' management; mid-career ethics modules and mentoring by exemplary seniors reinforce it.
- Institutional culture: appraisal that records integrity and empathy, prompt action on misconduct and protection for the honest; subordinates copy what leaders tolerate.
Ambedkar warned that democracy in India was "only a top-dressing on an Indian soil". Family, school, law and civil-service training together can turn constitutional morality into a habit, starting with those who govern.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.