We need to begin this chapter with a few prefatory remarks. The verbatim reproduction of UPSC’s description of the topic is ‘Human values – lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators’. This topic is open–ended in the sense that it is difficult to determine its contours. Further, the number of such men and women being large, one can discuss only a selected few as representative exemplars. The treatment has to briefly cover both their lives and ethical messages.
One has to further consider the three categories - leaders, reformers and administrators. Some individuals have combined these roles. Among leaders, those who spearheaded our national independence movement deserve special mention. Students will be familiar with the names: Gandhi, Nehru, Vallabhai Patel, Subhas Chandra Bose, Dadabhai Naoroji, Tilak, Gokhale, Maulana Azad, Ambedkar, Rajagopalachari, Tanguturi Prakasam, Subhramanya Bharati and many others. Students would have learnt about their lives, sacrifices and ideas while reading about Indian independence movement. It is, therefore, unnecessary to discuss them here.
Reforms can be political, social, economic, moral, ethical or religious. Religion and ethics are closely connected, and accordingly, we concentrate on such reforms. Moreover, historians have especially focused on social and religious reforms in Indian society in the nineteenth century. Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Swami Vivekananda are the foremost figures of this reform movement. We also need to go back in history and consider the saints associated
with Bhakti movement. They emphasised simple devotion to God and cultivation of virtue. They tried to promote social unity and break caste barriers. Their messages have particular relevance to contemporary Indian society.
‘Administrators’ may mean members of bureaucracy as in modern sense, or in a historical context, able or benevolent rulers in Indian history. They can be from ancient, medieval and modern periods. As examples, we can think of Kautilya, Asoka, Shershah, Raja Todarmal, Rani Ahalyabai, enlightened rulers of Baroda and Mysore princely states, Sir Thomas Munro and M. Visveswarayya. From an examination point of view, rulers or administrators of post–independence period can be ignored. It is better to concentrate on historical figures that are distant from us in time.
UPSC gave the following model question from this area for the guidance of students: Which great Indian personality has inspired you as a role model and how have you been able to benefit in your life by such an inspiration? Although we cannot assume that questions of only this pattern will be asked, we can draw one conclusion from it. Questions may not be set by name on a particular leader, reformer or administrator. They may ask candidates to explain how they have been influenced by any great personality or what lessons his life teaches us. This is only our conjecture.
The following question from this topic was asked in GS 4 Paper in examination of 2014: Q4 (a) Which eminent personality has inspired you the most in the context of ethical conduct in life? Give the gist of his/her teachings giving specific examples; describe how you have been able to apply these teachings for your own ethical development. Following question from 2017 paper is also from this part of the syllabus:
Q5. (a) “Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts. All depends on the principles which direct them.” – Napoleon Bonaparte. Stating examples mention the rulers (i) who have harmed society and country, (ii) who worked for the development of society and country.
Examiners may interpret the topic in various ways and ask questions to test the understanding and analytical skills of candidates.
In this regard, we make a suggestion which students will find useful. Whenever they happen to read about a prominent historical personality, they can ask themselves whether he or she can be placed among great leaders, reformers or administrators. If they think so, they should jot down brief details of the life and teachings of such personalities. They can use index cards, one for each individual, to enter such details. They should remember these details.