(a) Russia and Ukraine war has been going on for the last seven months. Different countries have taken independent stands and actions keeping in view their own national interests. We are all aware that war has its own impact on the different aspects of society, including human tragedy. What are those ethical issues that are crucial to be considered while launching the war and its continuation so far? Illustrate with justification the ethical issues involved in the given state of affair. (b) Write short notes on the following in 30 words each : (i) Constitutional morality (ii) Conflict of interest (iii) Probity in public life (iv) Challenges of digitalization (v) Devotion to duty
Approach · directive: “what / illustrate / write short notes”
What it asks · (a) Identify the ethical issues in launching and continuing a war, using the Russia-Ukraine conflict; (b) write five short notes of about 30 words each on the given concepts.
The question has 2 parts — answer each
- (a) Identify the ethical issues crucial to launching a war and to its continuation, and illustrate them with justification from the Russia-Ukraine war
- (b) Write short notes of about 30 words each on: constitutional morality; conflict of interest; probity in public life; challenges of digitalization; devotion to duty
Open with · Ashoka's remorse after Kalinga: war raises two ethical questions, whether it is right to fight and whether it is right to go on.
Cover
- (a) Just cause and last resort: sovereignty and territorial integrity (UN Charter, Article 2(4)) against security claims, and whether diplomacy was exhausted.
- (a) Proportionality and protection of civilians: attacks on homes, hospitals and infrastructure, refugees and deaths, and global food and energy shortages.
- (a) National interest versus morality: states choose sides by interest, and India's interest-based stand with repeated appeals for dialogue shows the tension.
- (a) Continuation: the duty to seek a ceasefire, accountability for war crimes, and the ethics of arms supply and sanctions.
- (b) Constitutional morality: fidelity to constitutional values and processes; conflict of interest: private interest clashing with public duty; probity: honesty and integrity in public life.
- (b) Challenges of digitalization: divide, privacy and cyber risk; devotion to duty: dedicated service beyond compulsion. Give each a definition, an example and a value in about 30 words.
Close with · Ashoka turned to dhamma after the killing; states must weigh interest against suffering and keep the path to peace open before it.
Add value (verified)
- UN Charter, Article 2(4): members must refrain from the threat or use of force against any state's territorial integrity or political independence — the yardstick for judging the invasion of Ukraine. Charter of the United Nations, Chapter I: Purposes and Principles — United Nations ↗“All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.”
- Just war theory (SEP): proportionality and last resort (necessity) govern the resort to war; discrimination, sparing civilians, governs its conduct. War — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy ↗“Proportionality: the morally weighted goods achieved by the war outweigh the morally weighted bads that it will cause. Last Resort (Necessity): there is no other less harmful way to achieve the just cause. Typically the jus in bello list comprises: Discrimination: belligerents must always distinguish between military objectives and civilians, and intentionally attack only military objectives.”
- UN Charter, Article 51: the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence arises if an armed attack occurs against a Member. Charter of the United Nations, Chapter VII, Article 51 — United Nations ↗“Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations”
- Ambedkar in the Constituent Assembly (4 November 1948): constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment; it has to be cultivated. Constituent Assembly Debates, Vol. VII, 4 November 1948 — Sansad (Parliament of India) ↗“Constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment. It has to be cultivated. We must realize that our people have yet to learn it.”
- Rule 3(1) of the CCS (Conduct) Rules, 1964 binds every government servant to maintain absolute integrity and devotion to duty. Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964, Rule 3 (updated to 27 February 2015) — Department of Personnel and Training ↗“(1) Every Government servant shall at all times-- (i) maintain absolute integrity; (ii) maintain devotion to duty; and”
- NSS 75th round (July 2017–June 2018): only 14.9% of rural households had internet, against 42.0% of urban households. Key Indicators of Household Social Consumption on Education in India, NSS 75th Round (July 2017–June 2018) — PIB, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, 23 November 2019 ↗“Nearly 14.9% of the rural households and 42.0% of the urban households had internet facility.”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2022, GS Paper IV — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 407 words (UPSC limit 150) · Minimalist IAS
Ashoka's edict on Kalinga records that "a hundred thousand were killed" and speaks of "the repentance" of the king. The Russia-Ukraine war, seven months old when this question was set, asks the same two things: was it right to fight, and is it right to go on?
(a) Ethical issues in launching and continuing the war
| Stage | Ethical test | The issue here |
|---|---|---|
| Launch | Just cause, last resort | Force against a sovereign state |
| Conduct | Spare civilians | Homes, hospitals, power grids hit |
| Continuation | Proportionality, duty to seek peace | Suffering grows, aims recede |
- Legality and just cause: Article 2(4) of the UN Charter bars force against any state's territorial integrity; Article 51 allows self-defence "if an armed attack occurs". Security anxieties are not such an attack.
- Last resort: just war theory asks that there be "no other less harmful way"; force used while diplomacy remained open fails it.
- Discrimination: belligerents must "distinguish between military objectives and civilians"; strikes on homes and mass displacement breach it.
- Harm to the distant poor: costlier grain and fuel hurt countries far from the front.
- Interest versus morality: states chose sides by energy needs and alliances, showing realism's pull against universal ethics.
- Duty to stop: war crimes need independent probes; prolonging a war whose aims recede multiplies suffering, so ceasefire and talks are a moral duty.
(b) Short notes
- Constitutional morality: fidelity to the Constitution's values and processes above personal or popular morality. Ambedkar warned that it "is not a natural sentiment. It has to be cultivated."
- Conflict of interest: a situation where an official's private interest, of money, family or friendship, could sway a public decision, as when a relative bids in a tender one evaluates. Remedy: disclosure and recusal.
- Probity in public life: uprightness beyond mere legality: acting only for the public good, declaring assets, refusing gifts and accounting openly for every decision.
- Challenges of digitalization: a deep divide (internet in only 14.9% of rural households, NSS 2017-18), authentication failures, privacy loss, cyber-fraud and algorithmic bias; inclusive design and data protection are the answer.
- Devotion to duty: wholehearted commitment beyond compulsion: diligence and service under hardship, as health workers showed in COVID-19. The CCS (Conduct) Rules require every government servant to "maintain devotion to duty".
Ashoka turned from conquest to dhamma only after the killing. The ethical test for states today is to make that turn before it: to weigh national interest against human suffering, and to keep the path to peace open.
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.