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.
It asks 2 things — 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 · Ambedkar's words that constitutional morality 'is not a natural sentiment' and 'has to be cultivated'; attitudes absorbed silently at home lag behind the Constitution, even among graduates.
Cover
- (a) Caste and communal prejudice: social distance in marriage, housing and hiring survives degrees.
- (a) Patriarchy: son preference and dowry as custom; sex ratio at birth only 929 girls per 1,000 boys (NFHS-5, 2019-21).
- (a) Civic laxity and status: 'chalta hai' bribes, VIP exemption, double standards, contempt for manual work and apathy.
- (b) A flowchart of the civil-service pipeline: early grooming, value-based selection, field-rich training, mentoring, integrity-linked appraisal.
- (b) Society: contact across caste and faith, enforced laws, and schools that reward honesty.
- (b) Civil servants: grooming young (2nd ARC's 10th Report), village stays, 'right attitudinal orientation' in training, Mission Karmayogi since 2020.
Close with · Ambedkar's 'top-dressing' warning; family, school, law and training must cultivate constitutional morality together, beginning with those who govern.
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· 222words · Minimalist IAS
"Constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment. It has to be cultivated," Ambedkar told the Constituent Assembly (1948). Attitudes absorbed silently at home often lag behind the Constitution, even among graduates.
(a) Undesirable values among today's educated Indians
- Caste and communal prejudice: social distance in marriage, housing and hiring survives degrees.
- Patriarchy: son preference and dowry as 'custom'; the sex ratio at birth was only 929 girls per 1,000 boys (NFHS-5, 2019-21).
- 'Chalta hai' laxity: petty bribes, queue-jumping and VIP exemption, alongside demands for an honest State.
- Status over labour: contempt for manual work; apathy towards voting or reporting wrongdoing.
(b) Changing attitudes and cultivating public-service values
- Early grooming
- Value-based selection
- Field-rich training
- Mentoring
- Integrity-linked appraisal
- Society: contact across caste and faith, laws actually enforced, and schools that reward honesty, not marks alone.
- Aspirants: the 2nd ARC's 10th Report records the view that grooming for public service should start young, before mindsets harden; village stays build empathy.
- Serving officers: training for "right attitudinal orientation"; since then, Mission Karmayogi (2020) seeks a shift from 'rules based' to 'roles based' HR management.
- Culture: mentoring by exemplary seniors and protection for the honest; juniors copy what leaders tolerate.
Ambedkar called democracy in India "only a top-dressing on an Indian soil". Family, school, law and training must cultivate constitutional morality together, beginning with those who govern.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 1 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
