QUESTION 3(b)
GS4
10 marks
What is meant by ‘crisis of conscience’? How does it manifest itself in the public domain?
WRITE IN
7 min
150 words
What the examiner wants
Explain crisis of conscience and how it appears in public life.
ExplainMake clear how and why it happens: causes, process, and an example for each point.
Demand-wise check
- 1Meaning: inner conflict when duty or orders clash with one's moral sense≈30 words
- 2Manifestations: whistleblowing, resignation, refusing illegal orders, moral injury, silent compliance≈30 words
- 3Examples: officers resigning over policy; whistleblowers≈30 words
- 4Handling: EI, reflection, legal channels≈30 words
Open in about 20 words and close in about 20.
Answer plan
MeaningManifestations with examplesHandlingConclusion
Where marks usually go
- Not showing public-domain forms: whistleblowing, resignation, refusing illegal orders
- No named case, e.g. Satyendra Dubey or Ashok Khemka
Draw this
- Scale: duty vs conscience
Value addition
- ExampleSatyendra Dubey (NHAI) wrote to the PMO about corruption in the Golden Quadrilateral and was murdered in 2003; it led to the PIDPI whistleblower resolution (2004).Public record
- LawWhistle Blowers Protection Act, 2014.Whistle Blowers Protection Act
Mapped topper copies
Reviewed public-source references related to this PYQ. Same-syllabus references are labelled separately.
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 23 ↗Reviewed PYQ reference
- G Sanjana · AIR 55 · Page 3 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Aakash Garg · AIR 5 · Page 7 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 3 ↗Same syllabus reference
Links open original public sources. MainsBuddy does not host these answer sheets.
Next: plan for one minute, write it in 7 minutes, then get it checked.