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General Studies 2022 GS Paper I 10 marks 150 words Compulsory Analyse

GS Paper I — Q10

Given the diversities among tribal communities in India, in which specific contexts should they be considered as a single…

Given the diversities among tribal communities in India, in which specific contexts should they be considered as a single category ? (Answer in 150 words) 10 marks

हिंदी में प्रश्न पढ़ें

भारत के जनजातीय समुदायों की विविधताओं को देखते हुए किस विशिष्ट संदर्भ के अंतर्गत उन्हें किसी एकल श्रेणी में माना जाना चाहिए ? (150 शब्दों में उत्तर दें)

Q10 of the 2022 UPSC Mains General Studies GS Paper I, as printed
The question as printed in the 2022 General Studies paper
Evaluate your answer to this question → See all 2022 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.

India’s 705-plus tribal communities exhibit profound linguistic, regional, and socio-economic diversities, ranging from settled agrarian groups to hunter-gatherers. Despite this heterogeneity, treating them as a single category is essential in specific contexts:

Constitutional and Political: Article 342 establishes the unified administrative identity of 'Scheduled Tribes' (STs), enabling standardized affirmative action and political representation under Articles 330 and 332 to address shared historical marginalization.

Rights and Protection: The PESA Act, 1996 and Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006 use this collective identity to secure community forest titles, autonomy, and legal safeguards against external land alienation and resource exploitation.

Policy and Resource Allocation: Institutional mechanisms like the Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) and Ministry of Tribal Affairs interventions require aggregate socio-economic profiling—via Census and NFHS indices—to channel budgetary resources and bridge developmental deficits.

Way Forward: While an overarching category provides institutional leverage and constitutional empowerment, treating tribes uniformly risks homogenizing distinct cultural-ecological realities. Future policy must balance structural unity for constitutional safeguards with differentiated, hyper-local approaches for vulnerable subsets like PVTGs.

What "Analyse" is asking you to do

Break the subject into its working parts and show how they act on each other. The marks are in the interconnections — which factor drives which, and what the resulting structure explains — not in the inventory of factors.

Structure that answers it

Define the whole → separate it into its parts → show which part drives which → what that interaction produces → what the structure implies

Where marks are lost

A flat list of causes with no account of which drives which. An answer of neatly separated headings, each self-contained, scores as description.

All UPSC directive words, compared →

How this answer will be evaluated

Approach

Framework: Society: continuity, data, intersectionality, then solution. discuss: intro > 3-4 dimensions > example > balanced close Full marks: Identifies 3-4 distinct administrative/legal contexts with specific examples.

Key points expected

  • Context of constitutional protection (Article 244, 5th/6th Schedule)
  • Context of administrative classification (Fifth Schedule areas)
  • Context of specific welfare schemes (e.g., TRIFED, tribal education)
  • Context of legal status (ST status under SC/ST Act)

Evaluation rubric

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

  1. The answer Identify specific contexts where tribal diversity is subsumed into a single category. 10 marks · 150 words

    discuss— intro → 3-4 dimensions → example → balanced close

    Must cover

    • Context of constitutional protection (Article 244, 5th/6th Schedule)
    • Context of administrative classification (Fifth Schedule areas)
    • Context of specific welfare schemes (e.g., TRIFED, tribal education)
    • Context of legal status (ST status under SC/ST Act)

    Loses marks

    • Listing tribal names without explaining the unifying context
    • Focusing only on cultural diversity without administrative context
    • Ignoring the legal/constitutional framework entirely

    Earns more

    • Mention of 'Scheduled Tribes' as the unifying legal category
    • Reference to 'Tribal Sub-Plan' in state budgets
    • Distinction between 'tribal' and 'Adivasi' usage
    • Mention of specific schemes like Van Dhan or tribal health

    Extra mark

    • Citing specific data on ST population share
    • Reference to specific Supreme Court judgment on ST status

Practice this exact question

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