(a) What were the major teachings of Guru Nanak? Explain their relevance in the contemporary world. (b) Explain the term social capital. How does it enhance good governance?
Approach · directive: “what / explain”
What it asks · (a) State Guru Nanak's main teachings and show why they matter today; (b) explain social capital and how it improves governance.
The question has 2 parts — answer each
- (a) State Guru Nanak's major teachings and explain their relevance in the contemporary world
- (b) Explain social capital and how it enhances good governance
Open with · Guru Nanak (1469-1539) rejected ritual and taught a simple path: remember the Divine Name, live honestly and serve others; a faith of conduct shared by many is also social capital.
Cover
- (a) Teachings: one God (Ik Onkar), equality of all people, rejection of caste, ritualism and superstition, and the triad of naam japna (remembrance), kirat karni (honest labour) and vand chakna (sharing).
- (a) Practice: langar and pangat (common kitchen and seating) broke caste barriers; respect for women; humility and seva; control of ego and greed.
- (a) Relevance: honest earning against corruption, sharing against inequality, equality against caste and gender bias, and interfaith harmony against communalism.
- (a) Ecological ethic: the Japji verse that treats air as teacher, water as father and earth as mother speaks to today's climate concerns.
- (b) Social capital: networks, trust and norms of reciprocity that let people cooperate for common ends; bonding, bridging and linking forms.
- (b) Governance gains: better participation and social audit, lower cost of enforcement, effective delivery through SHGs, cooperatives and village committees, and quick community response in disasters.
- (b) Caution: exclusive networks can entrench elites and caste, so bridging ties and inclusion are needed; Kudumbashree in Kerala shows the positive side.
Close with · The langar is social capital in its simplest form; governments that invest in such trust, through gram sabhas, SHGs and honest service, need less coercion and deliver more.
Add value (verified)
- Putnam's Making Democracy Work (1993) and Bowling Alone (2000) argued that strong and prosperous societies rest on community relationships and mutual trust, which he called social capital. Robert D. Putnam — Encyclopaedia Britannica ↗“In his most influential books— Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy (1993), coauthored with Robert Leonardi and Raffaella Nanetti, and Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (2000)—Putnam argued that strong and prosperous societies rest upon community relationships and mutual trust, what he called “ social capital .””
- Under DAY-NRLM, 10.05 crore rural households have been organised into 90.90 lakh self-help groups. Lakhpati Didi Scheme — PIB, Ministry of Rural Development (2025) ↗“So far, 10.05 crore rural households have been organised into 90.90 lakh SHGs in country under DAY-NRLM.”
- Kerala's Kudumbashree was formed in the context of devolution to panchayats and the People's Plan Campaign; its women's community network has Neighbourhood Groups at its base. Kudumbashree — An Introduction, Kudumbashree State Poverty Eradication Mission, Government of Kerala ↗“Its formation was in the context of the devolution of powers to the Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs) in Keralam, and the Peoples’ Plan Campaign, which attempted to draw up the Ninth Plan of the local governments from below through the PRIs. Kudumbashree has a three-tier structure for its women community network, with Neighbourhood Groups (NHGs) at the lowest level”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2023, GS Paper IV — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 398 words (UPSC limit 150) · Minimalist IAS
Baba Guru Nanak (1469–1539) rejected sacrifices, ritual baths, image worship and austerities, and taught a simple path: remember the Divine Name, live honestly and serve others. A faith of conduct shared by many is also what political science calls social capital.
(a) Guru Nanak's major teachings
- One God, one humanity: Ik Onkar; caste, creed and gender are irrelevant to liberation.
- Three pillars: naam japna (remembrance), kirat karni (honest labour) and vand chakna (sharing): right worship, honest living and helping others.
- Langar and sangat: followers ate together in the common kitchen regardless of caste or gender, and worshipped as one congregation.
- Engaged life: liberation meant an active life with a strong sense of social commitment, with humility, seva and control of ego and greed.
Their relevance in the contemporary world
| Teaching | Answers today's |
|---|---|
| Kirat karni | Corruption, rent-seeking |
| Vand chakna | Widening inequality |
| Langar, equality | Caste and gender bias |
- Interfaith harmony: the Kartarpur Corridor, opened in 2019 for his 550th birth anniversary, lets Indian pilgrims reach the gurdwara where he spent his last years; dialogue across faiths answers communalism.
- Ecology: the Japji verse that calls air the teacher, water the father and earth the mother is an ethic for a warming world.
(b) Social capital and how it enhances good governance
- Meaning: the networks, trust and norms of reciprocity that let people cooperate. Robert Putnam argued that strong and prosperous societies rest on community relationships and mutual trust (Making Democracy Work, 1993). Its forms are bonding (within groups), bridging (across groups) and linking (with institutions).
- Participation and accountability: active gram sabhas and social audits keep officials answerable and plans rooted in local needs.
- Lower cost of governing: where people trust the state, compliance is voluntary, as in vaccination drives, and enforcement and litigation fall.
- Better delivery: under DAY-NRLM, 10.05 crore rural households have been organised into 90.9 lakh self-help groups (PIB, 2025), channels through which credit and schemes reach the poor.
- State model: Kerala's Kudumbashree grew out of devolution to panchayats and the People's Plan Campaign, with women's neighbourhood groups at its base.
- Caution: exclusive bonding ties can entrench caste and patronage, so the state must build bridging ties through inclusion and transparency.
The langar is social capital in its simplest form: a shared meal that builds trust across caste and creed. Governments that invest in such trust, through gram sabhas, SHGs and honest service, need less coercion and deliver more.
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.