books on essays upsc

Learn to write great essays and answers

My book, Fundamentals of Essay and Answer Writing is now available! 

How will the book benefit you?

• Fundamentals of Essay and Answer Writing is specifically designed to improve your answer and essay writing skill in the shortest amount of time.  
• If you’re a beginner, you will take considerable time to understand the nuances of the exam. The principles outlined in the book will help you overcome such obstacles quickly and easily.  
• If you’re a seasoned aspirant, you are going to find new tools to further refine and dramatically improve the quality of your answers.  
• With Fundamentals of Essay and Answer Writing , it will become easier for you to stand out, and score well in UPSC Mains, no matter where you are currently in your UPSC journey.    

Contents of the Book

TABLE OF CONTENTS – COMPLETE EDITION

PART I : Essay Writing

• How to Prepare for the Essay
• Essay Introduction
• Main Body of the Essay
• Flow and Coherence
• Vocabulary, Language and Grammar
• Choosing a Topic
• Writing a Philosophical Essay
• Useful Quotes
•  Components of a Good Essay
• Why You Should Write

PART II: Answer Writing

• The Mains Booklist
• Current Affairs Preparation
• Useful Statistics
• Anthropology
• Illustrations
• Components of a Good Answer
• Closing Thoughts

PART III : Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

PART IV : Sample Answers to Previously Asked UPSC Questions

PART V : Bonus Videos (Only in E-book version)

Want to read a sample chapter from the book? Click below

1. chapter on gs-4 answer writing, 2. chapter on essay introductions.

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The UPSC essay paper is one of the nine papers for the IAS main exam. With this, the scores obtained in the UPSC essay topics will also be considered in the merit list. Hence, it is important to cover all the aspects of the UPSC essay syllabus .

In this paper, candidates need to write two essays, each with a word limit of 1000-1200 words. Moreover, they are required to choose one IAS essay topic out of the four options in each section i.e. A and B.

The UPSC essay paper is conducted for 250 marks with one essay UPSC paper for 125 marks. Therefore, aspirants should use the best books and strategies to excel in this section.

In this article, we have compiled all the details of the UPSC IAS essay for the candidates aspiring for the upcoming civil services exam.

Enroll now for UPSC Online Course

UPSC Essay Paper 2023 Structure

• As per the UPSC exam pattern , the essay paper is one of the nine subjects in the civil services main exam. In this paper, aspirants need to write essays on assigned UPSC essay topics .
• Candidates should practice writing essays on multiple topics in order to learn how to arrange their ideas and execute the same in the proper order.
• Furthermore, the UPSC essay paper will carry 250 marks with an exam duration of 3 hours.

UPSC Essay Previous Year Papers

The previous year’s UPSC essay paper is one of the finest resources to prepare well for this section. This will strengthen their vocabulary and writing skills and also provide them insights into the type of essay topics UPSC asked over the years.

Hence, we have compiled below the official UPSC essay previous paper PDF link for 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, and 2018 for the reference of the candidates.

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Best Strategy for UPSC Essay Writing

UPSC essays must be well-formatted and presented in a manner that the readers can easily understand without any obstacles. Above all, it must include the ideas about the issue mentioned in the question.

Candidates must note that the general essay papers also play an important role in compensating for the less scores in general studies and optional papers. Hence, it is advisable to focus on improving the vocabulary and writing skills from the first leg of the preparation.

Let’s look at the best strategy to score high marks in the UPSC essay topics in the main exam.

• Go through the entire UPSC essay syllabus to cover all the aspects of the section.
• Build a habit of reading newspaper editorials and journals every day. Going by the trend analysis, it is found that many essay questions were asked directly from current affairs in the past few years.
• Next, note down relevant quotes from the books/magazines/journal and implement them whenever required in the essay writing.
• Focus on IAS essay topics related to democracy, environment/urbanization, judiciary, social justice/poverty, philosophies, media & society, education, economic sector, etc as questions can be asked from these topics.
• Pick the essay topic very carefully. Also, it is advised to take some time to think about the topic and collect ideas and thoughts.
• One should make sure that the essay comprises sections like introduction, main body, theme, and conclusion.
• Moreover, aspirants can also reach out to their mentors, experts, seniors, or teachers for feedback on their essay writing. This will allow them to recognize their mistakes and focus more on their weak points for effective preparation.

Read More: How to write an essay for UPSC here!

Best Books for UPSC Essay Writing

Along with the best UPSC essay strategy , aspirants should also choose the finest books that comprise multiple essay topics UPSC for the exam. Here, we have shared below the best books and resources to strengthen the preparation of the general essay section:

• Monthly Current Affairs Magazines by OnlyIAS
• Only IAS Yogana Magazine
• Only IAS Praarambh Post-Independence India
• Only IAS Kurukshetra Magazine
• Only IAS Praarmabh Indian Society
• The Hindu (editorial articles)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1. How to score 150 in UPSC essay?

Ans. One can score 150 marks on the UPSC essay paper by managing time effectively throughout the exam and avoiding any kind of deviation from the topic.

Q2. What are the topics for UPSC essay?

Ans. Some of the important IAS essay topics include democracy, environment/urbanization, judiciary, social justice/poverty, philosophies, media & society, education, economic sector, etc

Q3. What is essay paper 1 in UPSC?

Ans. The UPSC essay paper 1 is one of the nine papers for the IAS main exam. In this paper, candidates need to write two essays, each with a word limit of 1000-1200 words. The maximum mark is 250 with a duration of 3 hours.

Q4. Is UPSC essay tough?

Ans. Yes, the UPSC essay paper is moderately tough as per the past year’s exam analysis. However, it also depends on the aspirant knowledge of the topic.

Q5. How many pages is 1,000 words in UPSC?

Ans. 2 pages single-spaced or 4 pages double-spaced is about 1000 words in UPSC.

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Books for UPSC Civil Service Main Exam Preparation

Last updated on August 31, 2023 by Alex Andrews George

The below-mentioned books are based on the feedback from many aspirants/toppers who found them useful for the exam.

We keep updating this page when new books worth the time and money of candidates appear in the market.

Table of Contents

Books for UPSC Civil Service Main Exam Preparation (Click on the links to buy online)

Books for UPSC Civil Service Main Exam overlap with many books recommended for Prelims. But Mains stage demands certain additional books as there are new topics like Foreign Relations, Internal Security, Ethics etc.

We suggest a mix of NCERT Books, Government websites, newspapers along with new textbooks in the market for mains preparation. Don’t forget to read our online study materials for mains too.

UPSC Books for Indian Polity and Constitution

• Indian Polity – by M. Laxmikanth ( Click to buy from Amazon )
• Important Acts that Transformed India – by Alex Andrews George ( Click to buy from Amazon )
• Important Judgments that Transformed India – by Alex Andrews George ( Click to buy from Amazon )

UPSC Books for Indian History and Culture

• Indian Art and Culture – by Nitin Singhania ( Click to buy from Amazon )
• Ancient and Medieval India – by Poonam Dalal Dahiya ( Click to buy from Amazon )
• Modern Indian History – by Sonali Bansal and Snehil Tripathi ( Click to buy from Amazon )

UPSC Books for Indian Geography and World Geography

• Certificate Physical And Human Geography – by Goh Cheng Leong ( Click to buy from Amazon )
• Geography of India – by Majid Husain ( Click to buy from Amazon )
• Oxford Student Atlas for India ( Click to buy from Amazon )

UPSC Books for Indian Economy

• Indian Economy – by Ramesh Singh ( Click to buy from Amazon )
• Indian Economy – by Nitin Singhania ( Click to buy from Amazon )
• Indian Economy Key Concepts – by Sankarganesh Karuppiah ( Click to buy from Amazon )

UPSC Books for Science and Technology

• Science and Technology – by Ravi P. Agrahari ( Click to buy from Amazon )

UPSC Books for Environment – Ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change

• Environment – By Shankar IAS ( Click to buy from Amazon )

UPSC Books for Current Affairs

• India 2021 Yearbook – by Rajiv Mehrishi ( Click to buy from Amazon )
• The Malayala Manorama English Yearbook 2021  –  by Mammen Mathew ( Click to buy from Amazon )
• India 2021 – Publications Division Paperback – by Publications Division ( Click to buy from Amazon )

IAS Books for Essay (UPSC Mains Essay Paper)

• Selected Contemporary Essays Paperback – by Saumitra Mohan ( Click to buy from Amazon )
• 151 Essays – by Disha Experts ( Click to buy from Amazon )

IAS Books for India Since Independence (Part of UPSC Mains GS1 Paper)

• Post-Independence India: For Civil Services Examinations – by Sonali Bansal and Snehil Tripathi ( Click to buy from Amazon )

IAS Books for World History (Part of UPSC Mains GS1 Paper)

• World History – by Krishna Reddy ( Click to buy from Amazon )

IAS Books for Indian Society (Part of UPSC Mains GS1 Paper)

• Indian Society: Themes and Social Issues – by Nadeem Hasnain ( Click to buy from Amazon )

IAS Books for Governance (Part of UPSC Mains GS2 Paper)

• Governance in India Paperback – by M. Laxmikanth ( Click to buy from Amazon )

IAS Books for Foreign Relations of India (Part of UPSC Mains GS2 Paper)

• International Relations – by Pavneet Singh ( Click to buy from Amazon )

IAS Books for Internal Security (Part of UPSC Mains GS3 Paper)

• Challenges to Internal Security of India – by Ashok Kumar and Vipul Anekant ( Click to buy from Amazon )

IAS Books for Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude (UPSC Mains GS4 Paper)

• Lexicon for Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude for IAS General Studies – by Niraj Kumar ( Click to buy from Amazon )
• Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude – by M. Karthikeyan ( Click to buy from Amazon )
• Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude – by G Subba Rao & P N Roy Chowdhury ( Click to buy from Amazon )

Civil Services Optional Subject Books (Paper 6 and Paper 7)

Books to Prepare Some of the Popular Optional Papers for IAS Mains:

• Sociology Optional: Books for Mains Exam .
• Public Administration Optional: Books for Mains Exam .
• History Optional: Books for Mains Exam .
• Geography Optional: Books for Mains Exam .
• Economics Optional: Books for Mains Exam .
• Philosophy Optional: Books for Mains Exam .
• Psychology Optional: Books for Mains Exam .
• Agriculture Optional: Books for Mains Exam .
• Political Science Optional: Books for Mains Exam .

Useful IAS Books and Magazines For Free Download and Reference

• NCERT Books Download .
• Buy NCERT Books Online .
• Yojana Magazine Download.
• Kurukshetra Magazine Download.
• Buy Pratiyogita Darpan Magazine .
• IGNOU Books Download .
• IAS Books Mains General Studies  – For more reference in GS1, GS2, G3 and G4.
• Free IAS Study Materials for UPSC Prelims and Mains .

Books for Other Exams (Click on the links to buy online)

• UPSC NDA/CDS/IES Exam Books .
• SSC Exam Books .
• Banking Exam Books .
• MBA Exam Books .
• Engineering Books .

UPSC Books at Online Stores!

• IAS Books in Hindi: List of Useful Books For Hindi Medium Aspirants .
• Latest IAS Books: Click To Buy New Releases For UPSC Preparation .
• Recommended list of UPSC books available in Flipkart .
• The full list of UPSC books available on Flipkart .
• The full list of UPSC books available on Amazon .

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About Alex Andrews George

Alex Andrews George is a mentor, author, and social entrepreneur. Alex is the founder of ClearIAS and one of the expert Civil Service Exam Trainers in India.

He is the author of many best-seller books like 'Important Judgments that transformed India' and 'Important Acts that transformed India'.

A trusted mentor and pioneer in online training , Alex's guidance, strategies, study-materials, and mock-exams have helped many aspirants to become IAS, IPS, and IFS officers.

Reader Interactions

July 30, 2013 at 2:27 pm

Sir, if i am appearing for ias – 2014 when shall i start making notes out of daily newspaper. shall i start it by now or after mains 2013. although i am reading newspaper regularly but what is right tme to take notes.

December 16, 2013 at 7:52 pm

Sorry for not keeping tracking of all comments…But to answer your query, note taking is advised from Day1. But it should be done on priority basis after Mains 2013.

April 17, 2014 at 8:20 pm

Sir, u will provide online coachine .plz…..inform me

June 8, 2016 at 6:40 am

Name:-satya prakash vill:- Khaje atwar sarai state:-bihar dist:-nalanada Pincode:-803118

September 19, 2013 at 4:56 pm

loved everything u posted here.!!! thank you just sooo much.!!!!! 🙂 😀 huge help…

December 16, 2013 at 7:53 pm

Welcome. Appreciate the feedback 🙂

November 20, 2013 at 2:58 pm

this site is very useful for ias’s dreamer

December 16, 2013 at 7:55 pm

Happy to hear the positive comments:-)

April 14, 2016 at 9:34 pm

Sir pls suggest me some management books for optional

January 14, 2014 at 10:49 pm

Sir I have tmh general studies.i recently bought Access Publishing general studies paper 1 and 2 which is very good too with all good authors.sir have you gone through these two later books.

January 14, 2014 at 11:52 pm

January 20, 2014 at 4:50 pm

sir, I have taken admission in ignou January 2014 session in b.a. Will I be eligible for ias 2016

March 27, 2014 at 6:46 am

Sir, Cannot open Socialogy books link… Plz Fix it… 4 Sociology – Civil Services Books – Mains Exam.

March 29, 2014 at 7:58 pm

Dear Dharmesh,

Thanks a lot for pointing out that. The link issue is fixed. Let us know if you find any further difficulties.

June 7, 2014 at 10:41 am

sir,i want to know that is english litt and langvage both are useful in ias if i do ba hons with english then up to whch extend it is useful for the preparation

June 1, 2017 at 9:20 am

Not so important but it improves your language and if u r able to improve your language from side then choose those subjects as hons. Which is your optional in mains it manage your time other wise u have to concentrate on graduation also

June 8, 2014 at 3:36 pm

Sir, I find no books on Anthropology for CIvil Services Main exam. would you kindly suggest me.

June 8, 2014 at 8:53 pm

i’m looking for on line or postal coaching for civil service(main) exam…. please inform me….

June 9, 2014 at 12:08 am

your suggested booklist immensly helped me to select my required books on respective subjects…

June 6, 2016 at 9:57 am

Great to know about that. All the best!

June 9, 2014 at 12:13 am

sir, what books shall i refer for essay paper??i have few..they are argumentative indian and imagining india….i need you to suggest a few more…

June 18, 2014 at 9:33 pm

no material for animal husbandary & veterinary science

July 18, 2014 at 5:51 pm

Sir Kya ram chandra guha aur dusre writer ki book hindi me aati hai

August 6, 2014 at 8:43 pm

Thanx for information

September 10, 2014 at 8:43 pm

Sir kya spectrum ki Indian culture Hindi me milegi

September 20, 2014 at 10:29 pm

Sir my optional is agriculture will u conduct online or postal classes for agriculture optional

November 13, 2014 at 8:52 pm

hello sir thanks you for providing valuable information can you suggest for world history and culture baliyan notes better or vaji 2. vaji printed or vaji handwritten which one is better

December 2, 2014 at 9:02 pm

Sir my self Debtanu I am so in ubi how can I manage my to get into civil service which book should I start to get in to the prelims in 2015 although I have bought 2 books of one is history of modern India and Indian polity

December 15, 2014 at 3:22 pm

Dis site iz very usful ias achivars Tnx alot of u

December 24, 2014 at 9:24 am

best site for upsc aspirants

June 6, 2016 at 9:58 am

Thank you for the feedback. All the best!

December 28, 2014 at 1:22 am

sir, i am a clerk in para military forces . I want to know that can i preparation and get success in jpsc or not because i have spent my 8-9 hrs in office so it is possible or not

January 2, 2015 at 7:49 am

This site is very useful for IAS aspirants.

January 25, 2015 at 6:47 pm

dear sir maire pas coching or dheli join karne ki koe samvawna nahi hai phir v mai esme saphal hona chahta hu apse kuchh feetback chahta hu sir

February 1, 2015 at 3:16 pm

Can u pls post the books needed to prepare for Electrical Engineering optional.

February 5, 2015 at 5:19 pm

Hello Sir..Good evening…sir please tell the Name of the books that are very much helpful for CSE Mains examination of Political Science optional subject with their publication and author’s..Thank you

March 6, 2015 at 9:10 am

So far so good..very much helpful

March 31, 2015 at 3:34 pm

Hello, I’m planning to take political science as an optional subject..can you suggest me the books for it..nothing is mentioned regarding political science in this post

March 31, 2015 at 4:28 pm

You may expect a post on Political Science optional, strategies and books to read soon.

April 6, 2015 at 9:00 am

SIR, My birth date in 1995 year…what am i eligible for civil service exam-2016?

April 24, 2015 at 7:38 pm

Thanks for giving a online free books and coaching, I decided to take management as my optional so i need a reference book and main book for my preparation thank you.Roghini Ravi Kumar

July 4, 2015 at 12:44 pm

Can we use second hand/old edition books for the preperation?

July 5, 2015 at 1:16 pm

Could you please suggest books for the optional subject Mathematics in mains? Thanks,

July 6, 2015 at 8:31 am

How important are NCERT books from preparation point of view? (Both for prelims and mains) I mean do i need to go through std 6-12 books or should I start with the books above mentioned?

August 1, 2015 at 11:56 am

plz suggest me maths books for optional.

August 1, 2015 at 6:04 pm

plz suggest me maths books for optional.also give me some important strategy for this subject.

August 22, 2015 at 6:15 pm

A good and amuch useful site.very useful and good for ias aspirants.i have download it today and find it good.

September 25, 2015 at 10:22 am

An assamese medium is allowed for main written exam of all (except English) GS i-iv and optional subject. Please provide details.

October 6, 2015 at 11:18 am

Clear IAS is Best app for For me i am IAS aspirant

June 6, 2016 at 9:59 am

Great to know that aspirants like you are taking the best out of ClearIAS app. All the best!

October 26, 2015 at 1:42 pm

Sir, i m really good at zoology. I will choose it as an optional subject. Its syllabus that u had posted is not typical, but still can you point out some books for zoology. Thank u 🙂

November 2, 2015 at 11:03 am

Sir, i shall be thankful to you if you kindly suggest a books for UPSC main 2016 with the latest edition.

November 9, 2015 at 12:08 am

Sir, Which are the optional subjects.. in which stage shoul i choose it in prelims or mains. ??

November 22, 2015 at 2:12 pm

Hello sir my name is Saiyam and my dream is to become an IAS OFFICE but I am little bit confused related to the books that I should refer and also I want that some guide line so that I can be on the right track for becoming an IAS OFFICE and transforming my dream in to the reality …… So sir can u plzz help me by giving your guidance ……….

December 9, 2015 at 1:36 pm

Sir, I am Master in fisheries with double graduation, one in zoology and other in fisheries (B. F.Sc.). I want to prepare and qualify IAS exam and I know only a little about it. Can you please help me in advising that how to start and how much knowledge is required. Actually, the problem with me is that I know very much about fisheries and zoology but my general knowledge is very poor.

December 12, 2015 at 5:51 am

sir tou will will provide online coching please inform me

February 27, 2016 at 7:43 am

Sir pls suggest me some good material for physics optional in mains

March 6, 2016 at 10:38 am

Hello sir, I am complete double degree graduation,one in history,and other in law.and. I have take admission in IGNOU in MA history,am very confused can you p/s help me in advising that how to start and I decided to take history as my optional subject.so I need a reference book I want ur suggestion.p/s help me.

March 22, 2016 at 10:06 pm

which subject is the most important for the mains paper

April 19, 2016 at 10:45 am

Books for optional – physics

April 23, 2016 at 12:16 pm

sir me ias ki teyari karna chata hu is ke liye kon si book lu.

May 23, 2016 at 8:11 pm

Hello sir, I’m not cleared about my doubt that there is scalling in optional subject paper 6 ,7 plz suggest I can take subject as veterinary science is useful bcoz I’m graduated in this subject or either geography in which I hv some interest

June 6, 2016 at 11:20 pm

Sir my optional subject is political science and international relations…which book ‘ll refer to study…

August 5, 2016 at 5:54 pm

Sir, I am a commerce graduate, I am worried about my optional papers. My first query, is it mandatory to choose two(2) optional paper? and another you does not share any link for commerce stream. If you share some idea it will be help full to me. I am still unable to choose 2nd optional paper (1st, Commerce & Accountancy). So please help me and suggest some books on commerce stream.

August 6, 2016 at 12:32 pm

Sir good morning i am rajesh .i am confused that how to start prepartion for ias .and suggest me some books for ias exam and geography main books.

August 19, 2016 at 1:28 am

Hi sir I’m the very beginner for the upsc prpeartion sit pls provide me the list of books for the entire history prpeartion in the exam point of view

September 16, 2016 at 2:49 pm

I want a personal email describing, 1. The books to prepare for Pre and Mains, optional History 2. What to read for Current Affirs with their backdrop 3. Various surveys, programmes and schemes 4. Various websites of government 5. Last years papers of pre & mains, how to get (and if possible, with answers)

Please give me this information, as I can’t join any coaching due to money issue and time constraints. (Email id given below)

October 14, 2016 at 9:02 pm

Respected sir, I am a BALLB 1st sem student.I am interested too in social service.To serve the society IAS is the only platform for me.But I am in confusion that from where I should start my preparation. And also I want to take law as an optional .sir, plz suggest me.

October 25, 2016 at 7:38 pm

sir ji plz provide the anthropology option book or material for the mains

November 26, 2016 at 8:50 pm

Sir.. Way are the books to be referred for zoology optional

February 25, 2017 at 10:38 pm

Sir Im preparing with Geography as optional. But I really don’t have any idea for General studies Paper 1, 2,3,4 for Main.. Can you suggest me some best book .. please reply and also reply about the books about their speciality.

April 13, 2017 at 6:41 pm

Sir, Is it possible to post the latest YOJANA & KURUKSHETRA Magazines

May 20, 2017 at 6:27 pm

Sir, now I passed 12th class & after graduation I want to give ias exam , which books I should read which mainly not changed & how I should prepare for that.

October 27, 2017 at 10:07 pm

Clear your graduation first,In addition current affairs

June 1, 2017 at 12:52 pm

Hello sir I need some books to suggested for anthropology optional ..I kindly request you to suggest me.. Thank you

July 3, 2017 at 8:18 am

Hello ClearIAS, In your website, only sociology optional book list is seen instead of respective optional when selected, so kindly make a change in your website, so, the aspirants would have a chance to view the books list for other optional too.

July 3, 2017 at 11:02 am

@Gopi: Thank you for bringing this to our notice. We have updated the links now.

July 16, 2017 at 10:00 pm

Thanks @ClearIAS for your kind cooperation…

July 12, 2017 at 5:09 pm

Sir if I select marathi language in ias mains exam, then are the optional subject in marathi language. Pls reply

July 16, 2017 at 10:02 pm

Thanks @ClearIAS for your kind cooperation of making changes…

September 24, 2017 at 10:52 am

hai sir….. iam preparing for ias but nt able to understand how to prepare for indian polity main plz suggest material for it plzzzzzz

October 27, 2017 at 10:05 pm

Sir,First off aĺ thank you so much for guiding us. Please share your views regarding zoology as a optional,as my subject was zoology till my graduation. After graduation i have stopped my academics,Sir please give your suggestion.

December 14, 2017 at 2:06 pm

Hello sir Firstly, thankyou so much for this wonderful opportunity. Can you list out the books for management subject as optional? Thanks

January 4, 2018 at 2:03 pm

sir i need the english material in mains exam (optional) subject and telugu material also sir

March 19, 2018 at 10:11 pm

Sir it’s time for me ask u a valuable question that sir can I take my optional subject as education

March 29, 2018 at 4:18 am

sir,I want to take optional subject as physics.Please suggest me the books and notes.Want your Help.

May 8, 2018 at 1:14 pm

ARE YOU SURE THAT I WILL BE ABLE TO CLEAR UPSC AFTER READING ALL THIS BOOKS..??

May 21, 2018 at 9:40 am

July 7, 2018 at 2:49 pm

Sir can you please provide books for optional subject mathematics

July 18, 2018 at 12:59 am

Sir will u plz provide books for optional subject law ?? 🙏

September 12, 2018 at 9:44 pm

After completion of law u may concentrate towards iAs …then both konowledge and power prosper in your life hopefully

March 5, 2019 at 8:28 am

Sir I want a zoology book for upsc

May 16, 2019 at 6:23 pm

Sir, please can you provide books for botany ,please

July 25, 2019 at 12:49 pm

Dear Sir, I am MBA in Marketing. i need guidance in selection of subjects in mains exam. As i did masters in marketing.

August 14, 2019 at 5:55 pm

Sir do I have to buy all the books or one book is enough for each paper(GS-1,GS-2,GS-3,GS-4)

November 4, 2020 at 12:37 pm

This is very helpful information. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.electronics devices

February 5, 2021 at 9:09 am

Usually, I never comment on blogs, but your article is so convincing that I never stop myself from saying something about it. You’re doing a great job Man, Keep it up.RO Water Purifier Services, Alkaline Water Machine Sale and Service

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UPSC CSE 2025: Study Plan

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Cover the entire syllabus of UPSC CSE Prelims and Mains systematically.

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UPSC Book List, Best Books for UPSC Prelims, Mains & Optionals

The Best Books for UPSC Civil Services Examination preparation are those that offer a well-organized and comprehensive coverage of the syllabus. These books should help you save time by providing detailed explanations and stay updated with the latest changes in the exam pattern and content. Selecting the right UPSC CSE Books is crucial for each stage of the exam. The Prelims consist of objective-type questions, while the Mains require descriptive answer writing skills. It's essential for aspirants to be discerning in their choice of books and categorize their reading list into Prelims and Mains preparation materials.

Best Books for UPSC Prelims

The Best Books for UPSC Prelims are the ones that cover the syllabus of General Studies Paper 1 and Paper 2 ( CSAT ) and all the essential topics for each General Studies like History, Geography, Environment, Economics, Polity, Art and Culture etc. Here is a list of all the important UPSC Prelims Books one should read to prepare for the exam:

UPSC Book List for Mains

Aspirants who clear the UPSC Prelims Examination become eligible for the UPSC Mains examination. The Mains exam consists of 9 theory papers, of which 2 are optional. For the UPSC Preparation , aspirants can refer to the following recommended books for general studies:

UPSC Optional Books

Your Optional Subject Paper 1 and Paper 2 in total carries a total of 500 marks accounting for a significant weightage in UPSC Mains. To prepare for these subjects, it is extremely important to use the right books:

Importance of Following Good UPSC Books

Following good UPSC books is crucial for effective preparation for the Civil Services Examination . These books serve as invaluable resources that provide comprehensive coverage of the syllabus and help candidates understand the concepts thoroughly. Here's why it's important to follow good UPSC books:

• Comprehensive Coverage: Good books cover the entire UPSC syllabus in a well-organized manner. They address all the topics and sub-topics comprehensively, ensuring that candidates have a solid understanding of each subject.
• Conceptual Clarity: These books explain concepts in a clear and concise manner, making it easier for candidates to grasp complex topics. They provide in-depth explanations, examples, and illustrations to help candidates build a strong conceptual foundation.
• Updated Content: The UPSC exam pattern and syllabus undergo periodic revisions, and good UPSC books are regularly updated to reflect these changes. Following updated books ensures that candidates are aware of the latest developments and are well-prepared for the exam.
• Time-saving: Good books help candidates save time by providing relevant and concise information. They eliminate the need to refer to multiple sources, thereby streamlining the preparation process and allowing candidates to focus on studying effectively.
• P ractice Questions: Many books include practice questions and previous years' papers, allowing candidates to assess their understanding and practice answering different types of questions. This helps candidates gauge their preparedness and identify areas that require further attention.

Overall, following good UPSC books is essential for candidates looking to crack the Civil Services Examination. These books not only provide comprehensive coverage of the syllabus but also help candidates build a strong conceptual foundation, stay updated with the latest developments, and practice effectively for the exam.

Other Resources

Apart from Books, an aspirant can refer to various other UPSC Study Material curated by experts that can help in saving time and increase reading efficiency. List is a list of resources that you can use to add to your reading:

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[Download] DISHA’s Free E-Book for UPSC Mains & Essay Preparation! अबकी बार, IAS पार!

Essay writing, gs paper 1 – history, geography, society, gs paper 2 – polity, governance, and international relation, gs paper 3 – economy, environment, internal security, gs paper 4 – ethics, integrity and aptitude.

• Dear aspirants, your shortlisting for the UPSC IAS Interview will be based on your score in the IAS Mains exam scheduled to be held between September, 2019.
• The IAS Main exam is a complete subjective test where you have to appear in 5 tests – Essay Writing, GS 1, GS 2, GS 3 & GS 4.
• The essays/ questions in these tests evolve around your understanding of the various events, ideas & issues prevailing in India. Your success depends upon two aspects – your understanding and your ability to present your thoughts. Every examiner looks into your answer, to see how well you have grasped the topic. It is important, therefore, to arrange your ideas, facts or quotes in a systematic way. A well-presented answer compels the examiner to read through at a first glance.
• In this regard, we are pleased to present our free e-books to help you in this journey.

What is asked in the exam? You have to write essays on 2 Topics out of a list of 8 Topics, in 1000 – 1200 words, in 3 Hours. For example

• What are the major water disputes between states in India? Can a centralized approach help solve water disputes?
• What is the importance of higher education in 21st century and how can it make a difference in people’s social life?
• Do you think skilling the youth has become vital for tackling unemployment in India?
• Do you think it would be possible to sustain high growth in the long term without environmental care?
• What role do you see for India in changing global world order?

? Click me to download FREE ebook containing above topics

Further, our Essay book contains a comprehensive list of 121 essays to tackle all such essays for UPSC Exam. With the upcoming independence day, we are pleased to make our ebooks available starting at the attractive price of just 9 rupees !

What is asked in the exam? You have to write answers to 20 Questions, in 150/ 250 words (as mentioned against each question) in 3 Hours. For this, we are pleased to share with you an ebook containing following topics:

? Click me to download FREE ebook containing following topics/ chapters

• Tips on how to write the Best Answers to GS Paper 1 Questions
• 25 Most Important Topics for IAS Mains GS 2019 Paper-1
• Important Cultural sites and Monuments in India.
• Classical and Regional Dances of India.
• Hindustani, Carnatic and Regional music of India.
• Indian Architecture like- Indus Civilization, Buddhist Architecture, Temple Architecture, Indo-Islamic Architecture, Modern Architecture.
• Indian Sculpture – Indus Civilization, Buddhist Sculpture, Gupta Sculpture etc.

What is asked in the exam? You have to write answers to 20 Questions, in 150/ 250 words (as mentioned against each question) in 3 Hours.

• Tips on how to write the Best Answers to GS Paper 2 Questions
• 25 Most Important Topics for IAS Mains GS 2019 Paper-2
• Delegation by the legislators and disqualifying them by the Speaker.
• Contribution to Clean India Mission and Water Conservation by Local Government.
• Limit of expenditure set by the Election Commission.
• Gandhi’s views in the Indian Constitution.
• Right to Information.
• Tips on how to write the Best Answers to GS Paper 3 Questions
• 25 Most Important Topics for IAS Mains GS 2019 Paper-3
• Sustainable Development
• Universal Basic Income
• Important International Environmental Conventions and Conferences
• Environmental Pollution
• Biotechnology and Its Applications

What is asked in the exam? You have to write answers to 12 Questions, in 150/ 250 words (as mentioned against each question) in 3 Hours.

• Tips on how to write the Best Answers to GS Paper 4 Questions
• 20 Most Important Topics for or IAS Mains GS 2019 Paper-4
• Civil Service Values
• Moral Values and Obligations
• Conflict of Interest in different situations
• Ethical Conduct and Code of Ethics
• Approaches to deal with malpractices in public service/ administration

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Writing a good Essay in UPSC Mains, Explained by Anudeep Durishetty

ForumIAS announcing GS Foundation Program for UPSC CSE 2025-26 from 10th August. Click Here for more information.

Novelist Stephen King put it beautifully when he said, “I write to find out what I think.”

Writing is a window to your thought process. What you write on paper will tell the reader how you think, how you argue and the way you substantiate your viewpoint. This is why for most competitive examinations and academic entrance tests, essay is mandatory.

In the Civil Services Exam too, we have a paper worth 250 marks, equivalent to a General Studies paper. Despite its importance, essay paper often does not get the attention it deserves from aspirants. First timers think they will write an excellent essay in the final exam itself, whereas experienced aspirants believe that since they had already studied a ton for GS, it will alone be enough to write a good essay. This is a fatal miscalculation.

I was one of those who made these errors in the past, and it is not a coincidence that I scored only 100 in CSE 2015. But in 2017, I devoted adequate time to this paper. I collected useful quotes, prepared notes and even made rough essay drafts for frequently asked topics. All this effort in essay paper helped me score 155.

What follows is an elaborate post on how you should tackle the Essay paper. I’ve organised the content as follows:

What UPSC says about the essay paper

How and from where to prepare?

Improving language and expression

• On subheadings and rough drafts
• What you must avoid
• How to write a powerful introduction?
• Developing the content of an Essay

Substantiating your arguments

• How to conclude an Essay
• My notes, quote collection and sample essays

“Candidates may be required to write essays on multiple topics. They will be expected to  keep closely to the subject of the essay,   to arrange their ideas in an orderly fashion, and to write concisely . Credit will be given for  effective and exact expression .”

Essay distinguishes itself from GS in the sense that in GS, marks will be awarded purely for content. But in essay, examiners will pay special attention to not just the content, but also the language, coherence and the way you organise your write-up.

So you must take adequate care to arrange your ideas properly and not commit any fundamental spelling or grammatical errors.

Most of the content you write in Essay will come from your GS preparation. Apart from this, the following sources will help:

• Reading non-fiction  helps you develop a matured thought process. Apart from imparting knowledge, they will also let you come across good figures of speech, art of argumentation, powerful rhetoric and unique content etc. For example, in an essay on Artificial Intelligence, I took arguments from Yuval Harari’s  Homo Deus  to argue that AI is an imminent threat to humanity. Or if you read  Why Nations Fail,  a book replete with examples, you will understand the importance of innovation, political and economic freedoms in propelling a nation forward. So my suggestion is, apart from UPSC related material, develop the hobby of reading non-fiction books. I do not mean to suggest that you should start reading one  non-fiction book per topic to get good scores in Essay, but reading them occasionally in your free time will benefit you in the long run.
• Referring to specific magazines:  For certain topics, you can refer to specific issues of Yojana/EPW/Economic Survey etc. Example: for an essay on tribal issues or public health, you can go through specific issues of these magazines for getting the latest statistics (IMR, MMR, malnutrition levels etc) and also about the positives and criticisms of govt schemes in that sector.
• Collecting good stories/anecdotes and quotes: Anecdotes, quotes and real life stories you see in newspapers and books which can be used in essay should be noted down. In most of my essays, I used to start with a relevant story or an anecdote that has the essay topic as its underlying theme. Apart from these, I also used a couple of quotes of eminent persons.

         List of quotes, anecdotes I collected are available in the link at the end of this article.

Language in essay must be simple and clear with as little jargon as possible. If you want to use complex definitional terms such as, say, ‘Constitutionalism’ or ‘Sanskritisation’ please define it in sentence just before you use it. Examiner will also understand clearly what you want to convey. Clear writing is clear thinking. And that is what any reader looks for.

Keep your sentences short and powerful. Long, winding sentences makes it difficult to read and understand. If you tack on one clause after another through conjunctions, what you get is a bad sentence sprawl.

Example of a bad sentence sprawl:

At the end of World War 2, on the one hand, while capitalism was successfully championed by the nations in North America and Europe, on the other hand, it was USSR that put Communism at the forefront due to which there was an ideological clash between the the two superpowers which had led to proxy wars in various parts of the globe, a nuclear arms race and a rapid deterioration of the security of the world.

(By the time readers finish reading it, they will lose their breath and the point of the sentence)

So I had a simple rule: If you run out of your breath while  reading a sentence, then probably you will have to break it into two.

Rewriting the aforementioned example after breaking it into two (which makes it much easier to read and comprehend):

After World War 2, while the North American and European nations championed capitalism, USSR put communism at the forefront. This ideological clash between the superpowers led to several proxy wars, a nuclear arms race and a rapid deterioration of world security.

There is no need to memorise complex words for writing a good essay. But an occasional use of a powerful word, or a good phrase definitely gives your write-up an edge.

Also, I believe that learning numerous words by rote will not make them stick in your brain for long. The best way to build your vocabulary is by reading non-fiction and English newspapers. While reading these, if you come across a good turn of phrase, or a word that you don’t recognise, please note it down in a book, find its meaning and understand the context in which the word was used. This helps in long term memory. Having a dictionary app on your phone also helps.

Building vocabulary is a slow process, but with consistency, anyone can become better at using an expansive set of words.

Subheadings & Rough Drafts

We can be a little innovative in our subheadings. Instead of bland subheadings such as ‘ Benefits of Nuclear Energy’  we can use “ Nuclear Energy: Promise or Peril?’  Similarly, for the essay on Social Media, instead of writing ‘ Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Media ’, I wrote  “Social Media: A Double Edged Sword”

You can find my collection of a few such subheadings in the link to my notes, given at the end of the article.

I also prepared a rough draft for a few essay topics (link given at the end). You may need to modify the structure as per the demand of the question.

What you must avoid in Essay

• Do not focus excessively only on one point, or one dimension (such as the historical or political aspect) Your essay needs to be expansive and multi-dimensional.
• During preparation, we read a lot and it’s understandable that we feel strongly about certain topics. And since essay offers freedom to write, it’s very easy to get carried away with such a topic. But make sure that you write what is asked, not what you know or feel like. No  mann ki baat . Always stick to the subject of the topic. It helps to read the question in the midst of your essay to ensure that you are not steering away from the topic.
• If you are not comfortable writing about abstract philosophical topics (I am terrible at writing them), avoid such questions. Your choice of topic has no bearing on the marks and that is why, selecting an unpopular topic just for the sake of it is unwise. Also, if there’s a technical term in the question, be doubly sure that you understand it correctly. For instance, in 2014, there was a question on ‘standard tests’, which is a technical term. I misunderstood it and wrote a generic essay. I got 112.
• When you take a final stand on an issue, it’s best to avoid extreme or highly unpopular opinions. We are free to have any opinion in the privacy of our minds, but in UPSC essay why take that risk? For instance, in an essay on Capital Punishment, in the main body content, you should present a case for both abolition and retention. But when you take a stance, it’s best to be an abolitionist.
• No ranting. You might be a great fan of Karl Marx, but if there’s a question on Capitalism, do not rant or rail against it ? You must present both the positives and negatives of Capitalism and end the essay on a balanced note.
• Do not dedicate disproportionate amount of time for the first essay and scamper through the second. Both carry equal marks, so please invest equal time.

How to transition smoothly from one para to the next

This can be done in three ways.

Through a link sentence at the end of a para:

Here, at the end of a para, you write a sentence that signals to the examiner what’s coming next. For example, let’s say you have just written a para about the threat posed by Artificial Intelligence (AI) to jobs. At the end of that para you can write a link sentence—   “Further, we must be mindful of the fact that Artificial Intelligence poses a major challenge not just economically, but also ethically.”  And in the next para, you can write about the ethical issues concerning AI.

Through a question:

Instead of a link sentence, you can also add a question at the end of a para so that examiner’s attention is helplessly carried to the next. To take the similar example as above, the question can be something like—   “Thus we have examined the threat posed by AI to our economy, but what about the challenges brought by AI to our ethics and morals?”  And in the next para, you can write about the ethical issues concerning AI.

Signalling the shift at the start of next paragraph:

Here you can simply add a word or two at the beginning of a para that signals a shift in your subtopic. For example in an essay on  Globalisation , let’s say you have just written a para about its historical evolution and impact. You can start the next para with something like—  “Politically too, globalisation has had a tremendous impact……” This way examiner immediately knows what to expect.

These steps will ensure that the transition between paragraphs is not abrupt.

How to write a good Introduction to your Essay?

Essay introduction can be:

a fictitious incident or story (where you introduce a character); a real life anecdote; a quote; or a simple definition of the words in the question (not recommended in Essay)

In GS, definitional approach is a great way to introduce your answers. But in essay, they are rather stale, lacking in any human element. I always believe that a good way to start your essay is to have that touch of humanity and warmth in your introduction.

In my Mains exam, this was my introduction to the essay ‘Destiny of a nation is shaped in its classroom’

“The year was 1945. Towards the end of a gruesome world war, the world powers decided to carve up the Korean peninsula along the 38th parallel.

“Before partition, North and South Korea might have been homogeneous in every respect, but after the division, they steered onto different paths. While schools in the North chose to ‘educate’ their children in the worship of a cult leader, ideological indoctrination and servility, its southern counterpart focused on liberal education, innovation and economic growth.

“Today, almost seven decades later, the difference in the fates of these people and the trajectories of both these nations cannot be more stark. One is known for gross violation of human rights, while the other a champion of liberal democracy. One is known for gut-wrenching poverty, while the other unbridled prosperity.

“This only proves the age old adage that the destiny of a nation is indeed shaped in its classrooms.”

Similarly, for the Social Media essay, my introduction sought to bring to the fore the paradox of Social Media. I wrote on how social media was leveraged to crowdsource help and rescue during Chennai floods in 2015. At the same time, I mentioned how it was used nefariously in 2012 to cause mass exodus of northeast people from Bangalore. And taking cue from this introduction, in the main body, I discussed about the inherent selfishness and altruism associated with social media.

These real life stories, anecdotes and incidents are everywhere in our books and newspapers. So when you come across them, note down and ponder as to how you can use them in your essay.

Developing the Main Content from the Topic

This is like spinning the web from a thread. Depending on the topic, you can choose among the following options that fits best.

• Temporal: Past, present and future
• Sectoral: Media, Science & Tech, Business, Sports, Religion, Politics, Administration etc
• Walks of Life : Individual, Family, Professional workplace, Society, Community, National, Global
• Problem & Solution:  Concept (historical evolution+status), benefits, problems, solutions
• Standard : Social, Political, Economical, Administrative, International, Environmental, Historical, Scientific, Security/Defence, Legal

Example: for a topic like  “Has Globalisation delivered on its promise?”  I find the problem & solution method an apt way to develop your narrative. So choose as per the question.

In the main body of the essay, each para must have an argument or an idea and a reasoning to back that argument. You can substantiate it through a real life example, a statistic, an authentic committee or organisational report etc.

For example, if you are arguing that Capital punishment is an expensive form of justice, you should be able to given an example or a statistic or Law Commission’s opinion as to how the subjects of death penalty are overwhelmingly from poor communities.

Statistics, examples, expert opinions and constitutional provisions are crucial and they make your arguments authoritative.

Concluding an Essay

Conclusion needs to be on  a futuristic, optimistic note. You need to summarise the complete essay in 3-4 sentences, after which you can write your vision for future.

You can source some useful terms from the speeches of PM Modi. Phrases like  Sabka saath sabka vikas ,  Reform-Perform-Transform, Building A New India  etc can come handy.  Rhetoric, lofty expressions, constitutional ideals, sanskrit slokas and quotes are a good way to conclude your essay.

But suppose in your introduction, if you had written about a fictitious character, then it’s always advisable to end your write-up with a reference to that character. It gives a sense of completeness to the essay.

Readers should keep in mind that these notes are written rather haphazardly (I mean who makes notes thinking that in future, they might have to upload them publicly :D)

They are fragmented in certain pages, so you may not be able to comprehend them completely, but nevertheless I hope you take home something useful.

Link to handwritten notes:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jmVMGOzAk2d9B5Y0HQ9XpVF5Mh2IXGku

Quote collection:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jk71jLao60hHwJoTuGYaIDgJWccxa5Xn

List of Topics one needs to prepare:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1q0W0PeH-80EKt6ucJTFOVPUlmXvCIzd-

Sample Essays:  

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jqfUi1FXdG0icBdJpdQvwH1wlAizCMvo

Read More at: https://anudeepdurishetty.in/ 

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UPSC Essay Topics

Administration.

• Politics, bureaucracy and business – fatal triangle. (1994)
• Politics without ethics is a disaster. (1995)
• The VIP cult is a bane of Indian democracy. (1996)
• Need for transparency in public administration. (1996)
• The country’s need for a better disaster management system. (2000)
• How should a civil servant conduct himself? (2003)

Democracy/India since independence

• Whither Indian democracy? (1995)
• What we have not learnt during fifty years of independence. (1997)
• Why should we be proud of being Indians? (2000)
• What have we gained from our democratic set-up? (2001)
• How far has democracy in India delivered the goods? (2003)
• National identity and patriotism. (2008)
• In the context of Gandhiji’s views on the matter, explore, on an evolutionary scale, the terms ‘Swadhinata’, ‘Swaraj’ and ‘Dharmarajya’. Critically comment on their contemporary relevance to Indian democracy. (2012)
• Is the colonial mentality hindering India’s success? (2013)
• Dreams which should not let India sleep. (2015)
• Management of Indian border disputes – a complex task. (2018)

Economic growth and development

• Resource management in the Indian context. (1999)
• GDP (Gross Domestic Product) along with GDH (Gross Domestic Happiness) would be the right indices for judging the wellbeing of a country. (2013)
• Was it the policy paralysis or the paralysis of implementation which slowed the growth of our country? (2014)
• Crisis faced in India – moral or economic. (2015)
• Near jobless growth in India: An anomaly or an outcome of economic reforms. (2016)
• Digital economy: A leveller or a source of economic inequality. (2016)
• Innovation is the key determinant of economic growth and social welfare. (2016)
• Impact of the new economic measures on fiscal ties between the union and states in India. (2017)

Federalism, Decentralisation

• The language problem in India: its past, present and prospects. (1998)
• Water resources should be under the control of the central government. (2004)
• Evaluation of panchayati raj system in India from the point of view of eradication of power to people. (2007)
• Is autonomy the best answer to combat balkanization? (2007)
• Creation of smaller states and the consequent administrative, economic and developmental implication. (2011)
• Cooperative federalism: Myth or reality. (2016)
• Water disputes between States in federal India. (2016)

Indian Culture & Society

• The Indian society at the crossroads. (1994)
• New cults and godmen: a threat to traditional religion. (1996)
• The composite culture of India. (1998)
• Youth culture today. (1999)
• Modernism and our traditional socio-ethical values. (2000)
• Indian culture today: a myth or a reality? (2000)
• As civilization advances culture declines. (2003)
• From traditional Indian philanthropy to the gates-buffet model-a natural progression or a paradigm shift? (2010)
• Judicial activism. (1997)
• Judicial activism and Indian democracy. (2004)
• Justice must reach the poor. (2005)

Social justice/Poverty

• Reservation, politics and empowerment. (1999)
• Food security for sustainable national development. (2005)
• The focus of health care is increasingly getting skewed towards the ‘haves’ of our society. (2009)
• Farming has lost the ability to be a source of subsistence for the majority of farmers in India. (2017)
• Poverty anywhere is a threat to prosperity everywhere. (2018)

Media & Society

• Misinterpretation and misuse of freedom in India. (1998)
• Mass media and cultural invasion. (1999)
• Responsibility of media in a democracy. (2002)
• How has satellite television brought about cultural change in Indian mindsets? (2007)
• Role of media in good governance. (2008)
• Does Indian cinema shape our popular culture or merely reflect it? (2011)
• Is sting operation an invasion on privacy? (2014)

Environment/Urbanisation

• Urbanization is a blessing in disguise. (1997)
• Protection of ecology and environment is essential for sustained economic development. (2006)
• Urbanisation and its hazards. (2008)
• Should a moratorium be imposed on all fresh mining in tribal areas of the country? (2010)
• We may brave human laws but cannot resist natural laws. (2017)

Economic sectors/MNCs

• Multinational corporations – saviours or saboteurs. (1994)
• Globalization would finish small-scale industries in India. (2006)
• BPO boom in India. (2007)
• Special economic zone: boon or bane? (2008)
• Are our traditional handicrafts doomed to a slow death? (2009)
• Is the criticism that the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model for development is more of a bane than a boon in the Indian context, justified? (2012)
• Tourism: Can this be the next big thing for India? (2014)
• Restructuring of Indian education system. (1995)
• Literacy is growing very fast, but there is no corresponding growth in education. (1996)
• Irrelevance of the classroom. (2001)
• Privatization of higher education in India. (2002)
• Modern technological education and human values. (2002)
• What is real education? (2005)
• “Education for all” campaign in India: myth or reality. (2006)
• Independent thinking should be encouraged right from the childhood. (2007)
• Is an egalitarian society possible by educating the masses? (2008)
• Credit – based higher education system – status, opportunities and challenges. (2011)
• Is the growing level of competition good for the youth? (2014)
• Are the standardized tests good measure of academic ability or progress? (2014)
• Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make a man more clever devil. (2015)
• Destiny of a nation is shaped in its classrooms. (2017)
• The new emerging women power: the ground realities. (1995)
• Greater political power alone will not improve women’s plight. (1997)
• Woman is god’s best creation. (1998)
• Women empowerment: challenges and prospects. (1999)
• Empowerment alone cannot help our women. (2001)
• Whither women’s emancipation? (2004)
• If women ruled the world. (2005)
• The hand that rocks the cradle. (2005)
• Women’s reservation bill would usher in empowerment for women in India. (2006)
• Managing work and home – is the Indian working woman getting a fair deal? (2012)
• If development is not engendered, it is endangered. (2016)
• Fulfillment of ‘new woman’ in India is a myth. (2017)

Quotes-based/Philosophy

• Youth is a blunder, manhood a struggle, old age a regret. (1994)
• Useless life is an early death. (1994)
• Disinterested intellectual curiosity is the lifeblood of civilisation. (1995)
• When money speaks, the truth is silent. (1995)
• Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds. (1995)
• Truth is lived, not taught. (1996)
• True religion cannot be misused. (1997)
• Search for truth can only be a spiritual problem. (2002)
• The paths of glory lead but to the grave. (2002)
• If youth knew, if age could. (2002)
• There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so. (2003)
• Be the change you want to see in others. (2013)
• With greater power comes greater responsibility. (2014)
• Words are sharper than the two-edged sword. (2014)
• Lending hands to someone is better than giving a dole. (2015)
• “The past’ is a permanent dimension of human consciousness and values. (2018)
• Reality does not conform to the ideal, but confirms it. (2018)
• Attitude makes habit, habit makes character and character makes a man. (2007)
• Discipline means success, anarchy means ruin. (2008)
• Character of an institution is reflected in its leader. (2015)
• Need brings greed, if greed increases it spoils breed. (2016)
• Joy is the simplest form of gratitude. (2017)
• A good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge. (2018)
• A people that values its privileges above its principles loses both. (2018)
• Customary morality cannot be a guide to modern life. (2018)

Globalisation

• Modernisation and westernisation are not identical concepts. (1994)
• The world of the twenty-first century. (1998)
• The implications of globalization for India. (2000)
• My vision of an ideal world order. (2001)
• The masks of new imperialism. (2003)
• Globalizations and its impact on Indian culture. (2004)
• ‘Globalization’ vs. ‘nationalism’. (2009)
• Preparedness of our society for India’s global leadership role. (2010)

Science & Tech

• The modern doctor and his patients. (1997)
• Value-based science and education. (1999)
• The march of science and the erosion of human values. (2001)
• Spirituality and scientific temper. (2003)
• The lure of space. (2004)
• Science and Mysticism: Are they compatible? (2012)
• Science and technology is the panacea for the growth and security of the nation. (2013)
• Technology cannot replace manpower. (2015)
• Alternative technologies for a climate change resilient India. (2018)

Internet/IT

• The cyberworld: its charms and challenges. (2000)
• Increasing computerization would lead to the creation of a dehumanized society. (2006)
• Cyberspace and Internet: Blessing or curse to the human civilization in the long run. (2016)
• Social media is inherently a selfish medium. (2017)

International organisations/relations

• Restructuring of UNO reflect present realities. (1996)
• India’s role in promoting ASEAN cooperation. (2004)
• Importance of Indo-US nuclear agreement. (2006)
• Has the Non- Alignment Movement (NAM) lost its relevance in a multipolar world. (2017)
• Terrorism and world peace. (2005)
• Are we a ‘soft’ state? (2009)
• Good fences make good neighbours. (2009)
• In the Indian context, both human intelligence and technical intelligence are crucial in combating terrorism. (2011)

Miscellaneous

• India’s contribution to world wisdom. (1998)
• The pursuit of excellence. (2001)
• Geography may remain the same; history need not. (2010)
• Fifty Golds in Olympics: Can this be a reality for India? (2014)
• Quick but steady wins the race. (2015)

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As a Teenager in Europe, I Went to Nudist Beaches All the Time. 30 Years Later, Would the Experience Be the Same?

In July 2017, I wrote an article about toplessness for Vogue Italia. The director, actor, and political activist Lina Esco had emerged from the world of show business to question public nudity laws in the United States with 2014’s Free the Nipple . Her film took on a life of its own and, thanks to the endorsement from the likes of Miley Cyrus, Cara Delevingne, and Willow Smith, eventually developed into a whole political movement, particularly on social media where the hashtag #FreeTheNipple spread at lightning speed. The same year as that piece, actor Alyssa Milano tweeted “me too” and encouraged others who had been sexually assaulted to do the same, building on the movement activist Tarana Burke had created more than a decade earlier. The rest is history.

In that Vogue article, I chatted with designer Alessandro Michele about a shared memory of our favorite topless beaches of our youth. Anywhere in Italy where water appeared—be it the hard-partying Riviera Romagnola, the traditionally chic Amalfi coast and Sorrento peninsula, the vertiginous cliffs and inlets of Italy’s continuation of the French Côte d’Azur or the towering volcanic rocks of Sicily’s mythological Riviera dei Ciclopi—one was bound to find bodies of all shapes and forms, naturally topless.

In the ’90s, growing up in Italy, naked breasts were everywhere and nobody thought anything about it. “When we look at our childhood photos we recognize those imperfect breasts and those bodies, each with their own story. I think of the ‘un-beauty’ of that time and feel it is actually the ultimate beauty,” Michele told me.

Indeed, I felt the same way. My relationship with toplessness was part of a very democratic cultural status quo. If every woman on the beaches of the Mediterranean—from the sexy girls tanning on the shoreline to the grandmothers eating spaghetti al pomodoro out of Tupperware containers under sun umbrellas—bore equally naked body parts, then somehow we were all on the same team. No hierarchies were established. In general, there was very little naked breast censorship. Free nipples appeared on magazine covers at newsstands, whether tabloids or art and fashion magazines. Breasts were so naturally part of the national conversation and aesthetic that Ilona Staller (also known as Cicciolina) and Moana Pozzi, two porn stars, cofounded a political party called the Love Party. I have a clear memory of my neighbor hanging their party’s banner out his window, featuring a topless Cicciolina winking.

A lot has changed since those days, but also since that initial 2017 piece. There’s been a feminist revolution, a transformation of women’s fashion and gender politics, the absurd overturning of Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction in New York, the intensely disturbing overturning of Roe v Wade and the current political battle over reproductive rights radiating from America and far beyond. One way or another, the female body is very much the site of political battles as much as it is of style and fashion tastes. And maybe for this reason naked breasts seem to populate runways and street style a lot more than they do beaches—it’s likely that being naked at a dinner party leaves more of a permanent mark than being naked on a glamorous shore. Naked “dressing” seems to be much more popular than naked “being.” It’s no coincidence that this year Saint Laurent, Chloé, Ferragamo, Tom Ford, Gucci, Ludovic de Saint Sernin, and Valentino all paid homage to sheer dressing in their collections, with lacy dresses, see-through tops, sheer silk hosiery fabric, and close-fitting silk dresses. The majority of Anthony Vaccarello’s fall 2024 collection was mostly transparent. And even off the runway, guests at the Saint Laurent show matched the mood. Olivia Wilde appeared in a stunning see-through dark bodysuit, Georgia May Jagger wore a sheer black halter top, Ebony Riley wore a breathtaking V-neck, and Elsa Hosk went for translucent polka dots.

In some strange way, it feels as if the trends of the ’90s have swapped seats with those of today. When, in 1993, a 19-year-old Kate Moss wore her (now iconic) transparent, bronze-hued Liza Bruce lamé slip dress to Elite Model Agency’s Look of the Year Awards in London, I remember seeing her picture everywhere and feeling in awe of her daring and grace. I loved her simple sexy style, with her otherworldly smile, the hair tied back in a bun. That very slip has remained in the collective unconscious for decades, populating thousands of internet pages, but in remembering that night Moss admitted that the nude look was totally unintentional: “I had no idea why everyone was so excited—in the darkness of Corinne [Day’s] Soho flat, the dress was not see-through!” That’s to say that nude dressing was usually mostly casual and not intellectualized in the context of a larger movement.

But today nudity feels loaded in different ways. In April, actor and author Julia Fox appeared in Los Angeles in a flesh-colored bra that featured hairy hyper-realist prints of breasts and nipples, and matching panties with a print of a sewn-up vagina and the words “closed” on it, as a form of feminist performance art. Breasts , an exhibition curated by Carolina Pasti, recently opened as part of the 60th Venice Biennale at Palazzo Franchetti and showcases works that span from painting and sculpture to photography and film, reflecting on themes of motherhood, empowerment, sexuality, body image, and illness. The show features work by Cindy Sherman, Robert Mapplethorpe, Louise Bourgeois, and an incredible painting by Bernardino Del Signoraccio of Madonna dell’Umiltà, circa 1460-1540. “It was fundamental for me to include a Madonna Lactans from a historical perspective. In this intimate representation, the Virgin reveals one breast while nurturing the child, the organic gesture emphasizing the profound bond between mother and child,” Pasti said when we spoke.

Through her portrayal of breasts, she delves into the delicate balance of strength and vulnerability within the female form. I spoke to Pasti about my recent musings on naked breasts, which she shared in a deep way. I asked her whether she too noticed a disparity between nudity on beaches as opposed to the one on streets and runways, and she agreed. Her main concern today is around censorship. To Pasti, social media is still far too rigid around breast exposure and she plans to discuss this issue through a podcast that she will be launching in September, together with other topics such as motherhood, breastfeeding, sexuality, and breast cancer awareness.

With summer at the door, it was my turn to see just how much of the new reread on transparency would apply to beach life. In the last few years, I noticed those beaches Michele and I reminisced about have grown more conservative and, despite being the daughter of unrepentant nudists and having a long track record of militant topless bathing, I myself have felt a bit more shy lately. Perhaps a woman in her 40s with two children is simply less prone to taking her top off, but my memories of youth are populated by visions of bare-chested mothers surveilling the coasts and shouting after their kids in the water. So when did we stop? And why? When did Michele’s era of “un-beauty” end?

In order to get back in touch with my own naked breasts I decided to revisit the nudist beaches of my youth to see what had changed. On a warm day in May, I researched some local topless beaches around Rome and asked a friend to come with me. Two moms, plus our four children, two girls and two boys of the same ages. “Let’s make an experiment of this and see what happens,” I proposed.

The kids all yawned, but my friend was up for it. These days to go topless, especially on urban beaches, you must visit properties that have an unspoken nudist tradition. One of these in Rome is the natural reserve beach at Capocotta, south of Ostia, but I felt a bit unsure revisiting those sands. In my memory, the Roman nudist beaches often equated to encounters with promiscuous strangers behind the dunes. I didn’t want to expose the kids, so, being that I am now a wise adult, I went ahead and picked a compromise. I found a nude-friendly beach on the banks of the Farfa River, in the rolling Sabina hills.

We piled into my friend’s car and drove out. The kids were all whining about the experiment. “We don’t want to see naked mums!” they complained. “Can’t you just lie and say you went to a nudist beach?”

We parked the car and walked across the medieval fairy-tale woods until we reached the path that ran along the river. All around us were huge trees and gigantic leaves. It had rained a lot recently and the vegetation had grown incredibly. We walked past the remains of a Roman road. The colors all around were bright green, the sky almost fluorescent blue. The kids got sidetracked by the presence of frogs. According to the indications, the beach was about a mile up the river. Halfway down the path, we bumped into a couple of young guys in fanny packs. I scanned them for signs of quintessential nudist attitude, but realized I actually had no idea what that was. I asked if we were headed in the right direction to go to “the beach”. They nodded and gave us a sly smile, which I immediately interpreted as a judgment about us as mothers, and more generally about our age, but I was ready to vindicate bare breasts against ageism.

We reached a small pebbled beach, secluded and bordered by a huge trunk that separated it from the path. A group of girls was there, sharing headphones and listening to music. To my dismay they were all wearing the tops and bottoms of their bikinis. One of them was in a full-piece bathing suit and shorts. “See, they are all wearing bathing suits. Please don’t be the weird mums who don’t.”

At this point, it was a matter of principle. My friend and I decided to take our bathing suits off completely, if only for a moment, and jumped into the river. The boys stayed on the beach with full clothes and shoes on, horrified. The girls went in behind us with their bathing suits. “Are you happy now? my son asked. “Did you prove your point?”

I didn’t really know what my point actually was. I think a part of me wanted to feel entitled to those long-gone decades of naturalism. Whether this was an instinct, or as Pasti said, “an act that was simply tied to the individual freedom of each woman”, it was hard to tell. At this point in history, the two things didn’t seem to cancel each other out—in fact, the opposite. Taking off a bathing suit, at least for my generation who never had to fight for it, had unexpectedly turned into a radical move and maybe I wanted to be part of the new discourse. Also, the chances of me going out in a fully sheer top were slim these days, but on the beach it was different. I would always fight for an authentic topless experience.

After our picnic on the river, we left determined to make our way—and without children—to the beaches of Capocotta. In truth, no part of me actually felt very subversive doing something I had been doing my whole life, but it still felt good. Once a free breast, always a free breast.

This article was originally published on British Vogue .

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The Global Tiger Initiative, St. Petersburg Declaration, TX2, and Tiger Conservation Excellence Award – UPSC Environment Notes

• Launched in 2008, the Global Tiger Initiative (GTI) was initiated by key founding partners, including the World Bank, Global Environment Facility (GEF), Smithsonian Institution, Save the Tiger Fund, and the International Tiger Coalition (representing over 40 non-government organizations). 
• The GTI is overseen by the 13 countries that fall within the tiger range.
• Functioning as a global alliance, the GTI brings together governments, international organizations, civil society, the conservation and scientific community, as well as the private sector. 
• This collective is dedicated to collaborating on a shared agenda aimed at preventing the extinction of wild tigers.
• The GTI Secretariat, situated at the World Bank, plays a crucial role in supporting the 13 tiger range countries. 
• It assists in implementing their conservation strategies, driving the global tiger conservation agenda through meticulous planning, coordination, and ongoing communication.

In a collaborative effort to prevent the extinction of wild tigers, a coalition has been established, bringing together governments, international organizations, civil society, and the private sector.

Table of Contents

• Capacity Building: Assist governments in enhancing their capacity to effectively combat the transnational challenge of illegal wildlife trade and implement scientifically informed management of tiger landscapes amid increasing and varied threats.
• Demand Reduction : Reduce international demand for tiger parts and other wildlife, a factor contributing to significant declines in tiger populations.
• Habitat Protection: Create mechanisms to safeguard habitats from development through the planning of “smart, green” infrastructure and environmentally sensitive industrial projects.
• Funding Innovation : Develop innovative and sustainable funding mechanisms for tiger landscapes, including protected areas, ensuring long-term support.
• Local Engagement : Establish strong local constituencies for tiger conservation by providing economic incentives and alternative livelihoods for local communities.
• Awareness and Advocacy : Raise awareness among governments, international aid organizations, and the general public about the high-value, diverse ecosystems within tiger habitats, emphasizing their potential to yield substantial benefits, both tangible and intangible.

ST. PETERSBURG DECLARATION

• In November 2010, leaders from 13 tiger range countries (TRCs) convened at the International Tiger Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, where they collectively adopted a resolution. 
• The participating TRCs include Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
• The resolution introduced the Global Tiger Recovery Program as its implementation mechanism. 
• The primary objective of this program is to achieve a substantial increase in the wild tiger population, aiming to double the existing number from approximately 3,200 to over 7,000 by the year 2022.

TX2: Doubling the World’s Wild Tigers by 2022

• TX2 represents a global commitment to double the population of wild tigers by 2022.
• The reference year for this commitment is 2006, serving as a baseline for assessing the progress toward doubling tiger numbers.
• The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) initiated the TX2 goal through collaborations with the Global Tiger Initiative, Global Tiger Forum, and other essential platforms.

TIGER CONSERVATION EXCELLENCE AWARD

• Established in 2010 in St. Petersburg, Russia, the TX2 Global Award is a prestigious international accolade initiated by key organizations dedicated to tiger conservation. 
• These organizations include UNDP, Global Tiger Forum, International Union for Conservation of Nature, World Wide Fund for Nature, Conservation Assured/Tiger Standards, and the Lion’s Share.
• Recipients of the TX2 awards not only receive recognition for their outstanding efforts but also benefit from a financial grant to support their ongoing conservation initiatives. 

The award acknowledges sites that demonstrate excellence in at least two of the following five themes:

• Monitoring and researching tiger and prey populations (including tiger translocation and prey augmentation).
• Effective site management.
• Strengthened law enforcement, protection, and improvements in ranger welfare.
• Community-based conservation, benefits, human-wildlife conflict mitigation.
• Habitat and prey management.
• The 2023 TX2 Award for doubling the population of wild tigers has been jointly secured by the Pench Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh and its counterpart in Maharashtra. 
• Additionally, the Tiger Conservation Excellence accolade has been conferred upon the Satpura Tiger Reserve, situated within the expansive Central India Tiger Landscape – recognized as the largest continuous tiger habitat block in India.

FAQs – THE GLOBAL TIGER INITIATIVES, ST. PETERSBURG DECLARATION, TX2, TIGER CONSERVATION EXCELLENCE AWARD

1. what is the global tiger initiative (gti), and when was it launched.

A: The GTI was launched in 2008, serving as a global alliance to prevent the extinction of wild tigers. Key founding partners include the World Bank, GEF, Smithsonian Institution, Save the Tiger Fund, and the International Tiger Coalition.

2-Who oversees the GTI, and what role does the GTI Secretariat play?

A: The GTI is overseen by the 13 countries within the tiger range, and the GTI Secretariat at the World Bank supports tiger range countries in implementing their conservation strategies.

3-What are the primary goals of the GTI?

A: The goals include capacity building, demand reduction for tiger parts, habitat protection, funding innovation, local engagement, and awareness and advocacy for tiger conservation.

4-When and where was the St. Petersburg Declaration adopted, and which countries participated?

A: The St. Petersburg Declaration was adopted in November 2010 in St. Petersburg, Russia. Leaders from 13 tiger range countries, including India, China, Russia, and others, participated.

5-What is the primary objective of the Global Tiger Recovery Program introduced in the St. Petersburg Declaration?

A: The primary objective is to achieve a substantial increase in the wild tiger population, aiming to double the existing number from around 3,200 to over 7,000 by 2022.

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• UN Environment Programme (UNEP) – Agencies, Global Environment Facility (GEF) – UPSC Environment Notes
• Indian Forest Act 1927 (IFA, 1927) – UPSC Environment Notes
• Mammals – Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN), Vulnerable (VU), Near Threatened (NT), Least Concern (LC) – UPSC Environment Notes
• Ramsar Convention on Wetlands – UPSC Environment Notes

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Loss of biodiversity – upsc environment notes, paris agreement – paris 2015 (cop 21; cmp 11) –..., wetlands (conservation-management) rules 2010 – upsc environment notes, habitat fragmentation and loss – upsc environment notes, ecosystem services by seagrasses – upsc environment notes, pesticide regulatory regime in india – pesticides management bill 2020,..., carbon border tax, long-term low-emission development strategy – upsc environment..., carbon markets – upsc environment notes, project hangul (kashmiri stag) – upsc environment notes, environment (protection) act of 1986 – major provisions – upsc..., leave a comment cancel reply.

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Guest Essay

I Have Been Studying Poker for Years. Kamala Harris Isn’t Bluffing.

By Nate Silver

Mr. Silver is the author of the book “On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything.”

In recent years, for a new book , I have spent time in a community of like-minded thinkers who take calculated risks for a living. These people, from poker players to venture capitalists — I call them the River, and they are from Silicon Valley, Wall Street, sports betting, crypto — make decisions based not on what they know at the moment but on expected value. For them, when it is time to make a decision, the question is: Do the risks outweigh the rewards?

The River is the rival of the group of academics, journalists and policy wonks that I call the Village. This term might be more familiar: It’s the East Coast expert class. Harvard and Yale. The New York Times and The Washington Post. Together, these communities make up only a small percent of the population — in short, they are elites.

The Village tends toward risk aversion, as evident in its Covid caution and its increasing wariness about free speech (which very much can have sticks-and-stones consequences ). It tends to make decisions by consensus, with dissenters punished by ostracization — or if you prefer, cancellation.

The River has been on a winning streak in terms of its impact on society and our economy: Its core industries, tech and finance, continually grow as fractions of the economy, and Las Vegas is bringing in record revenues. Not just baseball but pretty much everything has been “Moneyball”-ized, which is to say quantified and then monetized in some way.

Looking at politics through the lens of the River and Village communities, and their approaches to risk, can offer some interesting insight — and surprise.

The groups don’t map equally clearly onto our political institutions. In Trumpian times, with voting highly polarized along educational lines, the Village is overwhelmingly Democratic. The River’s politics aren’t quite as straightforward. Aloof and analytical, preoccupied with pursuits such as poker, not everyone in the River is a G.O.P. partisan. In fact, if you surveyed people I consider part of the River about their preferred presidential candidates, my guess is that Kamala Harris would get more votes than Donald Trump — although with an outsize third-party vote.

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The False Narrative of Settler Colonialism

The rise of an academic theory and its obsession with Israel

O n October 7 , Hamas killed four times as many Israelis in a single day as had been killed in the previous 15 years of conflict. In the months since, protesters have rallied against Israel’s retaliatory invasion of Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians. But a new tone of excitement and enthusiasm could be heard among pro-Palestinian activists from the moment that news of the attacks arrived, well before the Israeli response began. Celebrations of Hamas’s exploits are familiar sights in Gaza and the West Bank, Cairo and Damascus; this time, they spread to elite college campuses, where Gaza-solidarity encampments became ubiquitous this past spring. Why?

The answer is that, long before October 7, the Palestinian struggle against Israel had become widely understood by academic and progressive activists as the vanguard of a global battle against settler colonialism, a struggle also waged in the United States, Canada, Australia, and other countries created by European settlement. In these circles, Palestine was transformed into a standard reference point for every kind of social wrong, even those that seem to have no connection to the Middle East.

One of the most striking things about the ideology of settler colonialism is the central role played by Israel, which is often paired with the U.S. as the most important example of settler colonialism’s evils. Many Palestinian writers and activists have adopted this terminology. In his 2020 book, The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine , the historian Rashid Khalidi writes that the goal of Zionism was to create a “white European settler colony.” For the Palestinian intellectual Joseph Massad, Israel is a product of “European Jewish Settler-Colonialism,” and the “liberation” referred to in the name of the Palestine Liberation Organization is “liberation from Settler-Colonialism.”

Western activists and academics have leaned heavily on the idea. Opposition to building an oil pipeline under a Sioux reservation was like the Palestinian cause in that it “makes visible the continuum of systems of subjugation and expropriation across liberal democracies and settler-­colonial regimes.” When the city of Toronto evicted a homeless encampment from a park, it was like Palestine because both are examples of “ethnic cleansing” and “colonial ‘domicide,’ making Indigenous people homeless on their homelands.” Health problems among Native Americans can be understood in terms of Palestine, because the “hyper-­visible Palestine case …  provides a unique temporal lens for understanding settler colonial health determinants more broadly.” Pollution, too, can be understood through a Palestinian lens, according to the British organization Friends of the Earth, because Palestine demonstrates that “the world is an unequal place” where “marginalised and vulnerable people bear the brunt of injustice.”

Although Israel fails in obvious ways to fit the model of settler colonialism, it has become the standard reference point because it offers theorists and activists something that the United States does not: a plausible target. It is hard to imagine America or Canada being truly decolonized, with the descendants of the original settlers returning to the countries from which they came and Native peoples reclaiming the land. But armed struggle against Israel has been ongoing since it was founded, and Hamas and its allies still hope to abolish the Jewish state “between the river and the sea.” In the contemporary world, only in Israel can the fight against settler colonialism move from theory to practice.

T he concept of settler colonialism was developed in the 1990s by theorists in Australia, Canada, and the U.S., as a way of linking social evils in these countries today—such as climate change, patriarchy, and economic inequality—to their origin in colonial settlement. In the past decade, settler colonialism has become one of the most important concepts in the academic humanities, the subject of hundreds of books and thousands of papers, as well as college courses on topics such as U.S. history, public health, and gender studies.

Read: The curious rise of settler colonialism and Turtle Island

For the academic field of settler-colonial studies, the settlement process is characterized by European settlers discovering a land that they consider “terra nullius,” the legal property of no one; their insatiable hunger for expansion that fills an entire continent; and the destruction of Indigenous peoples and cultures. This model, drawn from the history of Anglophone colonies such as the U.S. and Australia, is regularly applied to the history of Israel even though it does not include any of these hallmarks.

When modern Zionist settlement in what is now Israel began in the 1880s, Palestine was a province of the Ottoman empire, and after World War I, it was ruled by the British under a mandate from the League of Nations. Far from being “no one’s land,” Jews could settle there only with the permission of an imperial government, and when that permission was withdrawn—­as it fatefully was in 1939, when the British sharply limited Jewish immigration on the eve of the Holocaust—they had no recourse. Far from expanding to fill a continent, as in North America and Australia, the state of Israel today is about the size of New Jersey. The language, culture, and religion of the Arab peoples remain overwhelmingly dominant: 76 years after Israel was founded, it is still the only Jewish country in the region, among 22 Arab countries, from Morocco to Iraq.

Most important, the Jewish state did not erase or replace the people already living in Palestine, though it did displace many of them. Here the comparison between European settlement in North America and Jewish settlement in Israel is especially inapt. In the decades after Europeans arrived in Massachusetts, the Native American population of New England declined from about 140,000 to 10,000, by one estimate . In the decades after 1948, the Arab population of historic Palestine more than quintupled, from about 1.4 million to about 7.4 million. The persistence of the conflict in Israel-Palestine is due precisely to the coexistence of two peoples in the same land—­as opposed to the classic sites of settler colonialism, where European settlers decimated Native peoples.

In the 21st century, the clearest examples of ongoing settler colonialism can probably be found in China. In 2023, the United Nations Human Rights office reported that the Chinese government had compelled nearly 1 million Tibetan children to attend residential schools “aimed at assimilating Tibetan people culturally, religiously and linguistically.” Forcing the next generation of Tibetans to speak Mandarin is part of a long-­term effort to Sinicize the region, which also includes encouraging Han Chinese to settle there and prohibiting public displays of traditional Buddhist faith.

China has mounted a similar campaign against the Uyghur people in the northwestern province of Xinjiang. Since 2017, more than 1 million Uyghur Muslims have been detained in what the Chinese government calls vocational training centers, which other countries describe as detention or reeducation camps. The government is also seeking to bring down Uyghur birth rates through mass sterilization and involuntary birth control.

These campaigns include every element of settler colonialism as defined by academic theorists. They aim to replace an existing people and culture with a new one imported from the imperial metropole, using techniques frequently described as genocidal in the context of North American history. Tibet’s residential schools are a tool of forced assimilation, like the ones established for Native American children in Canada and the United States in the 19th century. And some scholars of settler colonialism have drawn these parallels, acknowledging, in the words of the anthropologist Carole McGranahan, “that an imperial formation is as likely to be Chinese, communist, and of the twentieth or twenty-­first centuries as it is to be English, capitalist, and of the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries.”

Yet Tibet and Xinjiang—­like India’s rule in Kashmir, and the Indonesian occupation of East Timor from 1975 to 1999—­occupy a tiny fraction of the space devoted to Israel-­Palestine on the mental map of settler-colonial studies. Some of the reasons for this are practical. The academic discipline mainly flourishes in English-­speaking countries, and its practitioners usually seem to be monolingual, making it necessary to focus on countries where sources are either written in English or easily available in translation. This rules out any place where a language barrier is heightened by strict government censorship, like China. Just as important, settler-colonial theorists tend to come from the fields of anthropology and sociology rather than history, area studies, and international relations, where they would be exposed to a wider range of examples of past and present conflict.

But the focus on Israel-­Palestine isn’t only a product of the discipline’s limitations. It is doctrinal. Academics and activists find adding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to other causes powerfully energizing, a way to give a local address to a struggle that can otherwise feel all too abstract. The price of collapsing together such different causes, however, is that it inhibits understanding of each individual cause. Any conflict that fails to fit the settler-colonial model must be made to fit.

I srael also fails to fit the model of settler colonialism in another key way: It defies the usual division between foreign colonizers and Indigenous people. In the discourse of settler colonialism, Indigenous peoples aren’t simply those who happen to occupy a territory before Europeans discovered it. Rather, indigeneity is a moral and spiritual status, associated with qualities such as authenticity, selflessness, and wisdom. These values stand as a reproof to settler ways of being, which are insatiably destructive. And the moral contrast between settler and indigene comes to overlap with other binaries—­white and nonwhite, exploiter and exploited, victor and victim.

Until recently, Palestinian leaders preferred to avoid the language of indigeneity, seeing the implicit comparison between themselves and Native Americans as defeatist. In an interview near the end of his life, in 2004, PLO Chair Yasser Arafat declared, “We are not Red Indians.” But today’s activists are more eager to embrace the Indigenous label and the moral valences that go with it, and some theorists have begun to recast Palestinian identity in ecological, spiritual, and aesthetic terms long associated with Native American identity. The American academic Steven Salaita has written that “Palestinian claims to life” are based in having “a culture indivisible from their surroundings, a language of freedom concordant to the beauty of the land.” Jamal Nabulsi of the University of Queensland writes that “Palestinian Indigenous sovereignty is in and of the land. It is grounded in an embodied connection to Palestine and articulated in Palestinian ways of being, knowing, and resisting on and for this land.”

This kind of language points to an aspect of the concept of indigeneity that is often tacitly overlooked in the Native American context: its irrationalism. The idea that different peoples have incommensurable ways of being and knowing, rooted in their relationship to a particular landscape, comes out of German Romantic nationalism. Originating in the early 19th century in the work of philosophers such as Johann Gottlieb Fichte and Johann Gottfried Herder, it eventually degenerated into the blood-­and-­soil nationalism of Nazi ideologues such as Richard Walther Darré, who in 1930 hymned what might be called an embodied connection to Germany: “The German soul, with all its warmness, is rooted in its native landscape and has, in a sense, always grown out of it … Whoever takes the natural landscape away from the German soul, kills it.”

For Darré, this rootedness in the land meant that Germans could never thrive in cities, among the “rootless ways of thinking of the urbanite.” The rootless urbanite par excellence, for Nazi ideology, was of course the Jew. For Salaita, the exaltation of Palestinian indigeneity leads to the very same conclusion about “Zionists,” who usurp the land but can never be vitally rooted in it: “In their ruthless schema, land is neither pleasure nor sustenance. It is a commodity … Having been anointed Jewish, the land ceases to be dynamic. It is an ideological fabrication with fixed characteristics.”

In this way, anti-Zionism converges with older patterns of anti­-Semitic and anti­-Jewish thinking. It is true, of course, that criticism of Israel is not inherently anti-­Semitic. Virtually anything that an Israeli government does is likely to be harshly criticized by many Israeli Jews themselves. But it is also true that anti-­Semitism is not simply a matter of personal prejudice against Jews, existing on an entirely different plane from politics. The term anti­-Semitism was coined in Germany in the late 19th century because the old term, Jew hatred , sounded too instinctive and brutal to describe what was, in fact, a political ideology—­an account of the way the world works and how it should be changed.

Wilhelm Marr, the German writer who popularized the word, complained in his 1879 book, The Victory of Judaism Over Germanism , that “the Jewish spirit and Jewish consciousness have overpowered the world.” That spirit, for Marr, was materialism and selfishness, “profiteering and usury.” Anti-­Semitic political parties in Europe attacked “Semitism” in the same way that socialists attacked capitalism. The saying “Anti-­Semitism is the socialism of fools,” used by the German left at this time, recognized the structural similarity between these rival worldviews.

The identification of Jews with soulless materialism made sense to 19th-century Europeans because it translated one of the oldest doctrines of Christianity into the language of modern politics. The apostle Paul, a Jew who became a follower of Jesus, explained the difference between his old faith and his new one by identifying Judaism with material things (­the circumcision of the flesh, the letter of the law) and Christianity with spiritual things—­the circumcision of the heart, a new law “written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”

Simon Sebag Montefiore: The decolonization narrative is dangerous and false

Today this characterization of Jews as stubborn, heartless, and materialistic is seldom publicly expressed in the language of Christianity, as in the Middle Ages, or in the language of race, as in the late 19th century. But it is quite respectable to say exactly the same thing in the language of settler colonialism. As the historian David Nirenberg has written, “We live in an age in which millions of people are exposed daily to some variant of the argument that the challenges of the world they live in are best explained in terms of ‘Israel,’” except that today, Israel refers not to the Jewish people but to the Jewish state.

When those embracing the ideology of settler colonialism think about political evil, Israel is the example that comes instinctively to hand, just as Jews were for anti-Semitism and Judaism was for Christianity. Perhaps the most troubling reactions to the October 7 attacks were those of college students convinced that the liberation of Palestine is the key to banishing injustice from the world. In November 2023, for instance, Northwestern University’s student newspaper published a letter signed by 65 student organizations—­including the Rainbow Alliance, Ballet Folklórico Northwestern, and All Paws In, which sends volunteers to animal shelters—­defending the use of the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” This phrase looks forward to the disappearance of any form of Jewish state between the Mediterranean and the Jordan, but the student groups denied that this entails “murder and genocide.” Rather, they wrote, “When we say from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free, we imagine a world free of Islamophobia, antisemitism, anti-­Blackness, militarism, occupation and apartheid.”

As a political program, this is nonsensical. How could dismantling Israel bring about the end of militarism in China, Russia, or Iran? How could it lead to the end of anti-Black racism in America, or anti-Muslim prejudice in India? But for the ideology of settler colonialism, actual political conflicts become symbolic battles between light and darkness, and anyone found on the wrong side is a fair target. Young Americans today who celebrate the massacre of Israelis and harass their Jewish peers on college campuses are not ashamed of themselves for the same reason that earlier generations were not ashamed to persecute and kill Jews—because they have been taught that it is an expression of virtue.

This essay is adapted from Adam Kirsch’s new book, On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence, and Justice .

​When you buy a book using a link on this page, we receive a commission. Thank you for supporting The Atlantic.

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Global Tiger Numbers Rise, Southeast Asia Faces Habitat Threats

• 15 Nov 2023
• 10 min read
• GS Paper - 3
• Conservation
• Environmental Pollution & Degradation
• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
• Disaster Management

Source: DTE

For Prelims : Tiger , Global Tiger Recovery Program (GTRP) , United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) , International Tiger Day , World Bank , WWF , St. Petersburg Declaration, Tiger Range Countries (TRCs), International Tiger Forum, Global Tiger Initiative (GTI), Tiger Conservation Landscapes (TCL).

For Mains : Issues Countries facing in conservation of wildlife including tigers, Achievements of Project Tiger in India and related learnings, Human-Wildlife Conflict.

Why in News?

Countries have submitted tiger population numbers from 2010-2022 to the Global Tiger Recovery Program (GTRP) and United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) under GTRP 2.0 which aims to pave the way for tiger conservation from 2023-2034.

• The St Petersburg Declaration in 2010 saw 13 tiger range countries commit to reversing the decline of the species population and double their numbers by 2022.

What is the Status of Tiger Conservation in World?

• The wild tiger status is good in South Asia and Russia , but the picture in Southeast Asia is grim, posing challenges to the global tiger population recovery.
• However, countries like Bhutan, Myanmar, Cambodia, Lao-PDR and Vietnam showed a decline in tiger populations , making the situation “grim” in the Tiger Range Countries (TRCs) of Southeast Asia.
• India's wild tiger population is 3,167 in 2022. Nepal has tripled the tiger population.

What is Global Tiger Recovery Program 2.0 (2023-34)?

• GTRP was launched by the World Bank in 2010 under the Global Tiger Initiative (GTI) to double wild tiger populations by 2022, with commitments from Tiger Range Countries (TRCs).
• The Global Tiger Forum (GTF) became the implementing arm for the tiger agenda.
• GTRP 2.0 emphasizes on strengthening tiger governance, enhancing resources and protection, while addressing contemporary challenges like Human-Wildlife Conflict.
• The new version has retained several ongoing archetypal actions along with new ones for a differentiated approach to save the endangered wild tigers.

What are Threads to the Tiger Population in the World?

• Prey and Tiger Poaching : The situation is said to be challenging in the region due to widespread prey and tiger poaching combined with other lacunae such as inadequate patrolling, poor wildlife monitoring, forest loss for commercial needs, proximity to wildlife trade hubs and rapid infrastructure development resulting in fragmentation.
• Low Investment in Wildlife Conservation: Poor monitoring and low investment in wildlife conservation are other reasons for the drop in tiger populations.
• The report observed that loss of forest is a major factors across its ranges, with rapid decline in Southeast Asia.
• Degradation of Tiger Habitat: The tiger habitat has seen degradation due to deforestation, infrastructure development and illegal logging. The report emphasised the need for prey population augmentation in some patches.

What are the Suggestions Given by the Report?

• If steps on tiger stressors are not taken, a majority of the tiger population in Southeast Asia and small populations in parts of South Asia would be lost.
• There are ongoing agro-pastoral as well as other human-induced modifications in several TCLs. Such stressors impact the availability of welfare factors for major wild herbivores and thereby affect the relative abundance of major carnivores, including the tiger.
• However, the report also highlights the challenges and threats faced by the tigers, especially in Southeast Asia, where the situation is grim.

What are Initiatives Taken for Tiger Conservation?

• 13 TRCs are: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam.
• The resolution’s implementation mechanism is called the Global Tiger Recovery Program whose overarching goal was to double the number of wild tigers from about 3,200 to more than 7,000 by 2022.
• The GTF is the only intergovernmental international body established with members from willing countries to embark on a global campaign to protect the Tiger. It is l ocated in New Delhi, India.
• It was formed on recommendations from an international symposium on Tiger Conservation at New Delhi, India.
• Out of the 13 tiger range countries, seven are currently members of GTF: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Vietnam besides non-tiger range country U.K.
• GTI was launched in 2008 by founding partners the World Bank, Global Environment Facility (GEF) , Smithsonian Institution, Save the Tiger Fund, and International Tiger Coalition (representing more than 40 non-government organizations).
• The GTI is led by the 13 tiger range countries. It is a global alliance of governments, international organizations, civil society, the conservation and scientific community, and the private sector committed to working together toward a common agenda to save wild tigers from extinction.
• The GTI Secretariat, based at the World Bank, assists the 13 tiger range countries to carry out their conservation strategies and drive the global tiger conservation agenda, through planning, coordination, and continuous communication.
• Project Tiger
• National Tiger Conservation Authority
• Tiger Census in India
• Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022
• While the overall increase in the global tiger population is promising, the challenges faced by Southeast Asian tigers demand immediate attention and comprehensive conservation strategies.
• The collaborative efforts of nations, guided by effective policies and sustained resources, are imperative for ensuring the continued recovery and well-being of this iconic species.

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Question (PYQ)

Q. Among the following Tiger Reserves, which one has the largest area under “Critical Tiger Habitat”? (2020)

(a) Corbett

(b) Ranthambore

(c) Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam

(d) Sundarbans

• Critical Tiger Habitats (CTH), also known as core areas of tiger reserves, are identified under the Wild Life Protection Act, 1972 based on scientific evidence that “such areas are required to be kept as inviolative for the purpose of tiger conservation, without affecting the rights of the Scheduled Tribes or such other forest dwellers”.
• The CTHs are notified by the state government in consultation with the expert committee constituted for the purpose.
• Corbett (Uttarakhand): 821.99 sq. Kms
• Ranthambore (Rajasthan): 1113.36 sq. Kms
• Sundarbans (West Bengal): 1699.62 sq. Kms
• Nagarjunsagar Srisailam (part of Andhra Pradesh): 2595.72 sq. Kms
• Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer