psir-optional-i 2013

Comment on the following in approximately 150 words each: (50 marks, 150 words)

(a) “Personal is political” (10 marks, 150 words)

(b) “Original position” (10 marks, 150 words)

(c) “Covenants without swords are but words and of no strength to secure a man at all” (Hobbes) (10 marks, 150 words)

(d) Sri Aurobindo’s “idea of freedom” (10 marks, 150 words)

(e) Syed Ahmed Khan as a modernizer (10 marks, 150 words)

(a) Discuss the communitarian critique of liberalism. (20)

(b) Examine Ambedkar's critique of Marxism. (15)

(c) Explain, as per Gramsci, the distinction between hegemony and domination. (15)

(a) Analyse the relationship between natural rights and human rights. (20 marks)

(b) Examine the significance of Dharma in ancient Indian political thought. (15 marks)

(c) Discuss in what sense Marx's understanding of state can be considered as materialistic. (15 marks)

(a) Explain Berlin's notion of value pluralism. (20 marks)

(b) Analyse, as per Kautilya, the Saptanga theory of the state. (15 marks)

(c) Comment on the assertion of Laslett that Filmer and not Hobbes was the main antagonist of Locke. (15 marks)

Comment on the following in approximately 150 words each: (10 marks, 150 words)

(a) Marxist understanding of India's freedom movement (10 marks)

(b) Significance of the Preamble (10 marks)

(c) Decline of Indian Parliament (10 marks)

(d) Gandhian perspective of development and its contemporary relevance (10 marks)

(e) Compare and contrast Chipko Movement with Narmada Bachao Andolan (10 marks)

(a) Explain the phenomenon of ethnic politics in India in recent times. (20)

(b) Analyse the significance of Article 32 of the Indian Constitution. (15)

(c) Examine the role of Supreme Court as the final interpreter of the Indian Constitution. (15)

(a) “Cooperative federalism produces a strong central, or general government, yet it does not necessarily result in weak provincial governments that are largely administrative agencies for central policies. Indian federation has demonstrated this.” (Granville Austin)

Examine the uniqueness of Indian federalism in the light of the above statement. (20 marks)

(b) Explain to what extent the concept of “one-party dominance” (W.H. Morris-Jones) model is relevant in Indian politics today. (15 marks)

(c) Analyse the position of the Prime Minister of India in a coalition regime. (15 marks)

(a) Examine the significance of the verdicts of the Supreme Court in the Golaknath and Keshavananda Bharati cases for an understanding of the scope of Article 368 in regard to Fundamental Rights. (20 marks)

(b) Point out and comment on the historic importance of the document 'Towards Equality (1974)', for women's movement in India. (15 marks)

(c) Examine the changing structure of Panchayati Raj institutions with special reference to the 73rd Constitution Amendment Act. (15 marks)