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General Studies 2021 GS Paper I 10 marks 150 words Compulsory Differentiate

GS Paper I — Q4

Differentiate the causes of landslides in the Himalayan region and Western Ghats. (Answer in 150 words) 10

हिंदी में प्रश्न पढ़ें

हिमालय क्षेत्र तथा पश्चिमी घाटों में भू-स्खलनों के विभिन्न कारणों का अंतर स्पष्ट कीजिए । (150 शब्दों में उत्तर दीजिए)

Q4 of the 2021 UPSC Mains General Studies GS Paper I, as printed
The question as printed in the 2021 General Studies paper
Evaluate your answer to this question → See all 2021 General Studies questions

Model answer

Written by UPSC Answer Check against this question's marking rubric, to the 150-word length. UPSC does not publish answers for Mains — this is one way to score well, not an official key.

The Himalayas and Western Ghats exhibit contrasting landslide dynamics driven by divergent geomorphic, climatic, and anthropogenic factors.

Geological Drivers: The Himalayas are young, tectonically active fold mountains with fragile sedimentary and metamorphic strata, making slope failures heavily seismically driven. Conversely, the Western Ghats form an older, stable peninsular shield with basaltic Deccan traps, where instability arises from deep differential weathering and laterite soil vulnerability.

Climatic Triggers: Himalayan mass movements are driven by freeze-thaw cycles, rapid snowmelt, permafrost thaw, and Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs). In contrast, Western Ghats landslides are predominantly rainfall-triggered, caused by torrential southwest monsoon orographic downpours that cause saturation-induced debris flows.

Anthropogenic Pressures: Himalayan instability is intensified by steep-slope deforestation, extensive hydropower tunneling, and highway projects like the Char Dham widening. In the Western Ghats, landslides are exacerbated by stone quarrying and mining across Kerala and Karnataka, commercial plantation agriculture, and expanding tourism infrastructure.

Mitigation must be regionally tailored: focusing on seismic slope-engineering in the Himalayas, and enforcing strict eco-sensitive regulations against land-use modification in the Western Ghats.

What "Differentiate" is asking you to do

Fix the criteria on which the two differ and apply each criterion to both, so the pair can no longer be mixed up. Differentiate stems usually carry a further task attached — describe the mechanism, set out the principles, discuss the applications — and that task carries its own marks.

Structure that answers it

Criterion 1 applied to both → criterion 2 → criterion 3 → summary line or table → the attached second demand answered in full

Where marks are lost

Two standalone definitions placed side by side, leaving the reader to extract the difference. The second common loss is running out of space before the attached task, which is often worth as much as the differentiation.

All UPSC directive words, compared →

How this answer will be evaluated

Approach

Framework: GS1 Geography: Physical Geography (Landslides). compare: paired headings or table > key differences > significance > conclusion Full marks: Clear distinction between tectonic/young geology (Himalaya) and weathering/old geology (WG) with specific examples.

Key points expected

  • Himalayan causes: young fold mountains, active tectonics, loose debris
  • Himalayan causes: steep gradients, glacial melt, seismic activity
  • Western Ghats causes: old crystalline rocks, deep weathering
  • Western Ghats causes: monsoon intensity, laterite soil, deforestation

Evaluation rubric

Each sub-part is marked on its own, against the marks and word limit printed on the paper.

  1. The answer Differentiate the specific geological and climatic causes of landslides in the Himalayas versus the Western Ghats. 10 marks · 150 words

    compare— paired headings or table → key differences → significance → conclusion

    Must cover

    • Himalayan causes: young fold mountains, active tectonics, loose debris
    • Himalayan causes: steep gradients, glacial melt, seismic activity
    • Western Ghats causes: old crystalline rocks, deep weathering
    • Western Ghats causes: monsoon intensity, laterite soil, deforestation

    Loses marks

    • Listing general causes without differentiating the two regions
    • Narrating chronology of events instead of causes
    • Ignoring the geological age difference (young vs. old)

    Earns more

    • Mention of specific rock types (e.g., gneiss vs. sedimentary)
    • Reference to specific human factors (e.g., road cutting vs. mining)
    • Comparison of slope stability mechanisms
    • Mention of specific events (e.g., Chamoli vs. Wayanad)

    Extra mark

    • 30-second sketch map showing the two regions
    • One robust statistic on landslide frequency or loss

Practice this exact question

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