(a) “Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts. All depends on the principles which direct them.” — Napoleon Bonaparte. Stating examples mention the rulers (i) who have harmed society and country, (ii) who worked for the development of society and country. (b) “If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher.” — A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Analyse.
Approach · directive: “mention with examples / analyse”
What it asks · (a) Give examples of rulers who used ambition to harm and rulers who used it to build; (b) analyse Kalam's claim that the father, the mother and the teacher can make a nation free of corruption.
The question has 4 parts — answer each
- (a) Explain the quote: ambition takes its moral direction from the principles behind it
- (a) Rulers whose ambition harmed society and country, with examples
- (a) Rulers whose ambition built society and country, with examples
- (b) Analyse Kalam's view that the father, the mother and the teacher can make a nation corruption-free
Open with · (a) Ambition is a force that takes its moral colour from the principles that guide it; (b) Kalam places the roots of public honesty in the home and the classroom.
Cover
- (a) Idea: great ambition is neutral energy; principles, restraint and accountability decide whether it serves or harms society.
- (a) Harmed society: Hitler's genocide and war, Pol Pot's terror in Cambodia, Idi Amin's brutal rule in Uganda and Leopold II's exploitation of the Congo.
- (a) Built society: Ashoka's welfare and dhamma after Kalinga, Akbar's tolerant administration, Sher Shah Suri's roads and revenue system, Sayajirao Gaekwad III's schooling in Baroda.
- (a) Lesson: constitutional limits, rule of law and a conscience rooted in values keep ambition pointed at public good.
- (b) Claim: children learn honesty and respect for rules first at home and in school; corruption often starts as small compromises accepted there.
- (b) Roles: parents model integrity and teach restraint, and teachers build conscience, reasoning and civic sense; children copy what they see.
- (b) Limits: laws, strong institutions and honest role models in public life are also needed; an unethical system can undo values learnt at home.
Close with · Ambition needs principles to serve the public, and those principles are first learnt from parents and teachers and then reinforced by institutions.
Add value (verified)
- Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book II: virtues are acquired by practice — by doing just actions we become just — and lawgivers make citizens good by habituation. Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book II, tr. D.P. Chase — Project Gutenberg ↗“exactly so, by doing just actions we come to be just; by doing the actions of self-mastery we come to be perfected in self-mastery; and by doing brave actions brave. And to the truth of this testimony is borne by what takes place in communities: because the law-givers make the individual members good men by habituation”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2017, GS Paper IV — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 384 words (UPSC limit 150) · Minimalist IAS
Napoleon's point is that great ambition is neutral energy. It drives a ruler to great acts, and only the principles behind it decide whether those acts build or destroy.
| Aspect | Ambition that harmed | Ambition that built |
|---|---|---|
| Rulers | Hitler, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Leopold II | Ashoka, Akbar, Sher Shah Suri, Sayajirao III |
| Guiding principle | Supremacy, greed, terror | Dhamma, tolerance, public works |
| Legacy | Genocide, war, plunder | Welfare, harmony, roads, schools |
(a) Rulers who harmed society and country
- Ambition without restraint: Hitler turned a drive for racial supremacy into genocide and world war; Pol Pot's terror and Idi Amin's brutal rule devastated Cambodia and Uganda; Leopold II exploited the Congo for private gain.
(a) Rulers who built society and country
- Ashoka: after Kalinga, his dhamma taught respect for elders, kindness to slaves and servants, and respect for other faiths.
- Akbar and Sher Shah Suri: Akbar's sulh-i kul made room for all creeds; Sher Shah's royal road from the Indus to Bengal later became the Grand Trunk Road.
- Sayajirao Gaekwad III: invested Baroda's revenues in schooling.
- The directing principle: Kautilya taught that "In the happiness of his subjects lies the king's happiness"; ambition harnessed to that idea makes the ruler a trustee, not an owner.
Kalam locates the roots of public honesty in the home and the classroom, where character forms before law is learnt.
(b) Why the father, the mother and the teacher matter
- Habit before law: Aristotle held that "by doing just actions we come to be just"; virtue is learnt by practice, and practice begins in childhood.
- Parents as models: a parent who refuses to pay a bribe for a certificate teaches more than any lecture.
- Teachers as builders of conscience: they train reasoning, fairness and the habit of earning rather than taking.
- Drying the supply: a generation that finds petty corruption unthinkable starves the system of willing recruits.
(b) Limits of the claim
- Institutions also teach: Aristotle added that lawgivers make citizens good "by habituation"; a graduate who must bribe for a job learns a second, worse lesson.
- Shared responsibility: homes and schools mirror society, so strong institutions, honest public role models and certain punishment must back them.
Ambition needs principles to serve the public; those principles are first learnt from parents and teachers, and then held in place by institutions that reward honesty.
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.