GS Paper IV 2017 · Q5 (Section A)
2 parts · 10 marks and 150 words each Ethics & human interface X-Ray · Core #17Q5(a) 10 marks · 150 words · answered on its own
“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.
Approach · directive: “mention, stating examples”
What it asks · Read Napoleon's claim that principles decide where great ambition leads, then name rulers whose ambition harmed society and country and rulers whose ambition developed it, with examples.
It asks 3 things — answer each
- Explain the quote: principles decide whether great ambition builds or destroys
- Mention rulers who harmed society and country, with examples
- Mention rulers who worked for the development of society and country, with examples
Open with · Great ambition as neutral energy whose directing principles decide whether a ruler builds or destroys; Napoleon's own Civil Code of 1804 abolished privileges of birth, yet his return to monarchy destroyed democracy in France.
Cover
- A two-column table lists rulers who harmed (Hitler, Muhammad bin Tughlaq, Pol Pot, Idi Amin) and rulers who built (Ashoka, Akbar, Sher Shah Suri, Sayajirao Gaekwad III).
- Harm: Hitler's racial supremacy led to the Holocaust and the Second World War; Tughlaq's ill-executed shift of capital and token currency brought loss of life and economic decline.
- Development: Ashoka turned from Kalinga to dhamma; Akbar abolished the jizya and promoted sulh-i-kul; Sher Shah's royal road became the Grand Trunk Road.
Close with · Kautilya's directing principle, 'In the happiness of his subjects lies the king's happiness': ambition that serves it builds nations.
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2017, GS Paper IV — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 226words · Minimalist IAS
Napoleon's point: great ambition is neutral energy, and the principles directing it decide whether a ruler builds or destroys. His own Civil Code of 1804 abolished privileges of birth and established equality before law, yet his return to monarchy destroyed democracy in France.
| Rulers who harmed society and country | Rulers who worked for its development |
|---|---|
| Hitler: Holocaust, world war | Ashoka: dhamma after Kalinga |
| Muhammad bin Tughlaq: ruinous schemes | Akbar: sulh-i-kul, peace with all |
| Pol Pot, Idi Amin: rule by terror | Sher Shah Suri, Sayajirao Gaekwad III: schools, libraries |
Who harmed society and country
- Hitler: driven by racial supremacy, he made himself dictator and was responsible for the killing of at least six million Jews, the Holocaust, and for the Second World War.
- Muhammad bin Tughlaq: shifting the capital to Daulatabad forced people on a long and deadly march; his token currency invited counterfeiting and economic decline.
Who worked for its development
- Ashoka: after the death and destruction of Kalinga, he turned to dhamma: respect for elders, kindness to slaves and servants, respect for other faiths.
- Akbar and Sher Shah Suri: Akbar abolished the jizya and promoted sulh-i-kul, peace with all faiths; Sher Shah's royal road from the Indus to Bengal became the Grand Trunk Road.
Kautilya named the directing principle: 'In the happiness of his subjects lies the king's happiness.' Ambition that serves it builds nations.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
Q5(b) 10 marks · 150 words · answered on its own
“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: “analyse”
What it asks · Examine why Kalam sees the father, the mother and the teacher as the key to a corruption-free nation of beautiful minds, and where the claim needs support from institutions.
It asks 2 things — answer each
- Analyse why the father, the mother and the teacher can make a nation corruption-free
- Examine the limits of the claim and give a reasoned view
Open with · Kalam places the cure for corruption where character is formed: the family is primary socialisation and the school secondary socialisation, and the conscience that later refuses a bribe is built in both.
Cover
- Example over precept: Albert Bandura's Bobo doll experiment showed that children learn by observing adults; a parent who bribes teaches more than any lecture.
- The teacher's hidden curriculum: fair marking and refusing favours teach integrity by practice.
- A nation of beautiful minds: a generation that finds petty corruption unthinkable dries up both the supply of bribes and the demand for them.
- Limits: peers, mass media and corrupt systems also teach, so institutions must reward honesty; a flowchart runs from values at home to a corruption-free nation through honest institutions.
Close with · The Taittiriya Upanishad asks the disciple to honour father, mother and teacher as gods, yet to practise only the deeds that are good and righteous: the three must first live what they teach.
Add value (verified)
- Britannica: the Bobo doll experiment, led by psychologist Albert Bandura, demonstrated that children are able to learn through the observation of adult behaviour.Bobo doll experiment — Encyclopaedia Britannica ↗“groundbreaking study on aggression led by psychologist Albert Bandura that demonstrated that children are able to learn through the observation of adult behaviour.”
- Taittiriya Upanishad, ch. XI (Sri Aurobindo's translation): the Master's commandments to his disciple include holding father and mother as God and Goddess and serving the Master as a God, and practising only those of the teachers' deeds that are good and righteous.Taittiriya Upanishad, tr. Sri Aurobindo, Complete Works of Sri Aurobindo vol. 18 (Sri Aurobindo Ashram e-library) ↗“Let thy father be unto thee as thy God and thy mother as thy Goddess whom thou adorest. Serve the Master as a God and as a God the stranger within thy dwelling. The works that are without blame before the people, thou shalt do these with diligence and no others. The deeds we have done that are good and righteous, thou shalt practise these as a religion”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2017, GS Paper IV — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 222words · Minimalist IAS
Kalam places the cure for corruption where character is formed. What we learn in the family is primary socialisation, and what happens in school is secondary socialisation; the conscience that later refuses a bribe is built in both.
Why the father, the mother and the teacher matter
- Example over precept: Albert Bandura's Bobo doll experiment showed that children learn by observing adults; a parent who bribes for a certificate teaches more than any lecture on honesty.
- The teacher's hidden curriculum: schools shape children through practice as well as syllabus; a teacher who marks fairly and refuses favours teaches integrity daily.
- A nation of beautiful minds: a generation that finds petty corruption unthinkable dries up both the supply of bribes and the demand for them.
Where the claim needs support
- Other teachers: peers, mass media and public role models also shape the young; a corrupt system can undo what homes teach.
- Institutions must reward honesty: a youth who must pay for a job learns a worse lesson; transparent services and certain punishment must back home and school.
- Values at home
- Conscience at school
- Honest institutions
- Corruption-free nation
The Taittiriya Upanishad asks the disciple to honour father, mother and teacher as gods, yet to practise only 'the deeds we have done that are good and righteous': the three must first live what they teach.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
