SECTION A
Essay
125 marks
Truth knows no color.
WRITE IN
90 min
1,000–1,200 words
Reading the topic
The topic says truth is not coloured by identity, ideology, power or perspective: a fact remains a fact whoever states it. The examiner expects an essay on objectivity and impartiality, set against prejudice, partisan 'my truth' narratives, misinformation and selective justice, and on how institutions protect truth from being bent by colour of skin, party, religion or wealth.
ThesisTruth is binding on everyone regardless of race, party or rank, and a society is only as just as its willingness to accept inconvenient truths from any source.
Dimensions to cover
- 1Philosophy: Indian and Western traditions treat truth as universal, not owned by any group, which is why satya is a cardinal virtue
- 2Society: racial and caste prejudice make people disbelieve testimony from the marginalised, colouring truth by identity
- 3Media: polarised media and social platforms offer each group its own version of events, eroding a shared factual base
- 4Justice: courts must weigh evidence without regard to the wealth or status of parties for the rule of law to hold
- 5Governance: transparency laws let ordinary citizens demand facts from the powerful, making truth independent of rank
- 6Reconciliation: societies emerging from conflict heal only when all sides' crimes are acknowledged equally
Counter-view
- Postmodern thinkers argue that truth is shaped by perspective and power, so all claims carry some 'colour'. The essay should accept that interpretation varies but insist that facts and evidence exist independently, and that admitting bias is a step toward truth, not proof that truth is relative
Open and close
- Open: Begin with a courtroom where a domestic worker's testimony is doubted against her wealthy employer's, until CCTV footage confirms every word she said
- Close: Conclude that truth may be uncomfortable for every group in turn, and a mature society accepts it whichever colour it seems to wear
Where marks usually go
- Reading 'colour' only as race and missing caste, religion, party, class and ideology
- Drifting into a general essay on honesty without addressing bias and identity
- Endorsing relativism without answering it, which weakens the thesis the topic invites
Examples that fit
- LiteratureIndia's national motto 'Satyameva Jayate', meaning truth alone triumphs, is taken from the Mundaka Upanishad and expresses truth as a universal value above rulers.Mundaka Upanishad; State Emblem of India (Prohibition of Improper Use) Act, 2005
- HistorySouth Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission heard testimony of abuses by both the apartheid state and liberation groups, applying one standard of truth across colour lines.Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Report (1998)
- CaseThe Right to Information Act lets any citizen, regardless of status, seek information from public authorities, so facts are not reserved for the powerful.Right to Information Act, 2005
- StoryKing Harishchandra keeps his word even when it costs him his kingdom and family, the Indian archetype of truth that bends for no rank.Markandeya Purana