Rajapuram is a border district. Jhara and Biru, its two major communities are in continual conflict with each other. The social fabric is fractured and demands mending.
Ethnic tensions between the two communities have erupted into violence resulting in a large number of deaths. The stated causes are conflicting land claims, uneven resource allocation and inadequate political representation in government bodies. Separate relief camps had to be created for the two communities. The situation is volatile and appears to be getting out of control.
Rajan has been appointed the District Magistrate (DM) of Rajapuram and tasked to quickly get the situation under control. His immediate tasks include restoring administrative authority, reopening the highway and initiating peace talks. On taking over his appointment, Rajan realized that the inter-community rivalry had even seeped into the local administration and police. With functional neutrality being the immediate casualty, it had made both communities distrustful of the government. The neighbouring country could utilize the opportunity to spur insurgent activity and further aggravate the situation. Rajan favoured a controlled approach starting with opening the highway to restore food and medical supplies. He toyed with the idea of requisitioning CRPF units to help restore administrative control.
(a) Discuss the ethical issues that need to be addressed in this case. (b) What are the options open to Rajan? Which option would ensure protection of his non-partisan image without compromising ethics?
🧭 How to think about this question · directive: “discuss / what / which”
Decode the demand
- Two sub-parts, three directives: 'discuss' the ethical issues; 'what' options exist; 'which' option keeps Rajan visibly non-partisan without compromising ethics. Each needs its own heading.
- The case in one line: an ethnic riot where the referee (administration and police) has joined a team, with a hostile border waiting to exploit delay.
- Your seat: you are the District Magistrate, so every option must be something a DM can lawfully order on day one.
- The trap: a long list of problems with no verdict, or choosing 'dialogue' while people in camps run out of food. The examiner wants life secured first, then trust rebuilt.
Think in a structure
- Open with the tension (order v. impartiality) and the Ambedkar line on the constable; it fits because the constable here has taken sides.
- Stakeholders as a hub, then (a) issues as value conflicts: each point names an ethical keyword, the reason, and a thinker or rule; one verified sub-point.
- (b) options as a table (merits v. demerits), then the chosen option as concrete DM actions, each tied to a value, ending with why it guards his image (Conduct Rules).
- Close with a sequence flowchart and the political settlement (Bodo Accord), returning to Ambedkar's constable as the anchor.
Facts checked at source (5)· open
- Ambedkar, 25 November 1949: without fraternity, liberty and equality could not become a natural course of things and would need a constable to enforce them.Constituent Assembly Debates, 25 November 1949 (Dr B. R. Ambedkar) — constitutionofindia.net ↗“Without fraternity, liberty equality could not become a natural course of things. It would require a constable to enforce them.”
- Article 355: it is the duty of the Union to protect every State against external aggression and internal disturbance.Constitution of India (as on 2023) — Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice ↗“355. Duty of the Union to protect States against external aggression and internal disturbance.—It shall be the duty of the Union to protect every State against external aggression and internal disturbance and to ensure that the Government of every State is carried on in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.”
- MHA Guidelines on Communal Harmony (revised, 23 June 2008), para 4.4: officials of proven integrity, efficiency, impartiality and non-partisan outlook should be posted in communally sensitive and riot-prone areas.Guidelines on Communal Harmony — Ministry of Home Affairs (revised guidelines sent to States, 23 June 2008) ↗“4.4 In communally sensitive and riot prone areas police and administrative officials of proven integrity, efficiency, impartiality and non-partisan outlook should be posted.”
- Bodo Accord (27 January 2020): signed by the Government of India, Assam and Bodo groups; a Rs 1,500 crore development package; 1,615 workers of NDFB factions laid down arms.Peace accords in the North East — PIB backgrounder, Ministry of Home Affairs, March 2024 ↗“Bodo Accord (2020) The MoU was signed on January 27 , 2020 by the Government of India, the Government of Assam, and representatives of Bodo Groups to resolve the long pending Bodo issue in the presence of Hon’ble Home Minister Shri Amit Shah. A special development package of ₹1500 crore is also provisioned. After this agreement, 1615 workers of NDFB factions laid down their arms.”
- All India Services (Conduct) Rules, Rule 3: every member shall maintain political neutrality and promote merit, fairness and impartiality.All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968 (as amended) — Rule 3, hosted by Tripura High Court (thc.nic.in) ↗“Every member of the Service shall maintain:- (i) high ethical standards, integrity and honesty; (ii) political neutrality; (iii) promoting of the principles of merit, fairness and impartiality in the discharge of duties; (iv) accountability and transparency; (v) responsiveness to the public, particularly to the weaker section;”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2026, GS Paper IV — paper ↗. Guidance: Minimalist IAS, checked 8 Nov 2026 (how we verify). ·
Model answer· 657words · Minimalist IAS
Rajan faces the oldest dilemma of public order: restore authority fast, or restore trust first. Ambedkar warned the Constituent Assembly that without fraternity, liberty and equality "would require a constable to enforce them"; in Rajapuram the constable himself has taken sides, so neutrality must be rebuilt before order can be enforced.
Rajan's stakeholders: Jhara and Biru; displaced in two camps; partisan officials and police; CRPF units; highway users and traders; the border and the nation
(a) Ethical issues that need to be addressed
- Sanctity of life and duty of care: food, medicine and safety in both camps come before authority; Gandhi's talisman asks what each step does for the weakest face.
- Impartiality v. community affinity: officials serving their own side deny equal protection under Article 14; Nolan's objectivity means decisions on evidence, not kinship.
- MHA Guidelines on Communal Harmony (2008): riot-prone areas need officials "of proven integrity, efficiency, impartiality and non-partisan outlook".
- Justice v. peace: victims demand accountability for the deaths, yet mass arrests of one side reignite violence; Rawls' justice as fairness needs a process both sides would accept.
- Proportionality of force v. dialogue: central forces restore control but may look like one community's occupier; Gandhi held that impure means corrupt the end.
- Distributive justice: land claims, resource allocation and representation are the root causes; Rawls' difference principle asks that any settlement favour the worse-off group.
- Public trust as a public good: Kautilya placed the ruler's happiness in the happiness of subjects; a state distrusted by both sides can govern neither.
- Security and constitutional duty: a hostile neighbour may exploit delay; Article 355 makes protection against internal disturbance a Union duty, so seeking central help is lawful, not weakness.
(b) Options open to Rajan
| Option | Merits | Demerits |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy force at once | Quick control, deters insurgents | Alienation, abuses, partisan label |
| Talks before any action | Consent, no new bloodshed | Deaths and shortages continue, state looks absent |
| Phased, visibly neutral action | Life first, trust built step by step | Needs discipline and transparency throughout |
- Verdict: option one fails Gandhi's means test, option two fails the duty of care; only the phased, neutral course passes both.
(b) The option that protects his non-partisan image without compromising ethics
- Neutral force under civil command: requisition CRPF to open the highway and guard both camps with identical strength; outside units carry no local loyalty.
- Clean the machinery on conduct, not community: transfer officials with documented partisan acts; mixed-community patrols; the 2008 MHA guideline is his legal cover.
- Equal relief, published daily: same rations, medical rounds and camp standards for Jhara and Biru, placed on a public notice board; transparency makes fairness visible.
- Rumour control and recorded truth: a round-the-clock control room, a daily press brief, an FIR on every death investigated by a team drawn from outside the district.
- Peace talks on shared needs first: elders, women and youth from both sides meet over the highway, markets and schools before land; confidence precedes concessions.
- Why it guards his image: political neutrality and impartiality are duties under the All India Services (Conduct) Rules; by doing the same for both, Rajan stands above both.
What I would do as the District Magistrate: the sequence
- Day 1: CRPF opens highway, supplies move
- Both camps guarded equally
- Partisan staff redeployed on record
- Equal relief published daily
- Joint peace committee
- State-level settlement of land, resources, representation
- Carry root causes upward: land records, resource sharing and representation belong to the state government and legislature; Rajan's job is to hand them a district at peace and a documented brief.
- After the Bodo Accord (2020), 1,615 members of NDFB factions laid down arms once grievances were addressed politically.
- Rebuild fraternity, not just order: joint work on burnt homes, shared markets and reopened schools, so each community sees the other as neighbour before negotiator.
Neutrality is shown, not declared: equal protection, equal relief and equal justice give dialogue a floor to stand on, and turn Ambedkar's constable back into a servant of fraternity.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 8 Nov 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
