‘Dreams which should not let India sleep’ — How to answer this past year question that tests IAS aspirants’ patriotism in interviews and essays of UPSC exam

When UPSC asked this question 10 years backmost successful 2014, an aspirant indispensable person thought, “What should I constitute to fto the examiner cognize that I americium alert of the problems successful the state and inactive optimistic astir achieving the goals?” 

In UPSC Essentials’ special bid ‘UPSC Essays Simplified’, we instrumentality you done immoderate of the illustration essays written by our expert Pranay Aggarwal covering questions of past years.

Dreams which should not fto India sleep!

— Pranay Aggarwal

As a child, I came crossed Gandhi’s talisman successful schoolhouse textbooks. What has stayed with maine is its poignant gist – Bapu’s ambition was “to hitch each teardrop from each eye”. Delivering his iconic ‘tryst with destiny’ code astatine the commencement of autarkic India, past Prime Minister Nehru excessively laid down a imaginativeness for modern India – arsenic a prosperous, antiauthoritarian and progressive nation. Ambedkar, successful his past code successful the Constituent Assembly, envisioned a nine wherever liberty, equality and fraternity are the governing principles of societal life. Several different statesmen likewise outlined their visions for the signifier our post-colonial federation should take. Well, times person changed. And truthful has India – substantially. It is astir clip we renew our nationalist imaginativeness successful keeping with the contiguous realities. In each humility, what follows is a communal man’s uncommon charter for our nation successful the 21st century.

To go a developed state with precocious standards of surviving within our beingness is the archetypal and foremost of these dreams. While aiming to go 1 of the world’s largest economies with precocious per capita income, we besides indispensable beryllium cognizant of the request to wholly eradicate poorness successful each its forms and trim structured inequalities on the way. Consistently precocious rates of economical maturation accompanied with jobs creation, equitable entree to resources, and targeted payment programs tin assistance span this gap. We indispensable prioritize inclusive growth with ample opportunities for societal mobility; truthful that improvement benefits all, particularly the marginalized.

The imagination of ensuring entree to prime acquisition for each child, careless of household background, remains an abiding inspiration. Let determination beryllium nary ‘Chhotu’ serving successful a roadside dhaba successful my India of the future. Likewise, affordable healthcare services besides indispensable beryllium disposable to all, particularly the underprivileged and the elderly. Let nary large pistillate dice unattended during childbirth due to the fact that the nearest infirmary was excessively far. As we question to recognize these dreams, we volition besides go a much compassionate society.

Maintaining ecological balance and preserving our affluent biodiversity is different imagination that should support america awake. With the looming threats of clime alteration and utmost upwind events already a reality; this is simply a non-negotiable. We volition person to instrumentality bold steps to code ecological issues and support the rights of nature-based communities (like tribals). Raising ecological consciousness, promoting greenish technologies, and ensuring liable industrialization volition guarantee that we permission down a steadfast and livable situation for aboriginal generations.

Another imaginativeness is to make a nine wherever women are adjacent participants successful each aspect – social, economic, and political. Empowering women is not lone important for societal justice, but is besides indispensable for nationalist growth. Ensuring women’s safety, promoting girls’ education, providing adjacent opportunities successful the workforce, and addressing sex inequalities some wrong and extracurricular homes are indispensable to unlock the afloat imaginable of the nation.

I envision a united and harmonious India, escaped from communal, caste, and taste divides. Social harmony is imperative for a peaceful and prosperous society. Emphasizing tolerance and respect for diversity, which are successful immoderate lawsuit a portion of our civilizational being, indispensable besides stay astatine the halfway of our nationalist imaginativeness successful the 21st century.

I imagination of India arsenic a planetary leader – an important, assertive, and liable federation shaping planetary geopolitics and arsenic the fulcrum of the satellite economy. Our chances of realizing this imagination are intrinsically linked to our abilities to augment our defence capabilities and task our brushed power. Strengthening our subject forces, defence modernization and ensuring interior information are indispensable to support our sovereignty and support bid truthful indispensable to execute our different dreams. Of course; being a ideology of a cardinal positive radical with a affluent taste heritage, a accelerated increasing and ample economy, and the world’s 2nd largest subject force; atomic susceptible India is uniquely poised to signifier planetary discourse. We request to play to our strengths, and enactment connected our vulnerabilities.

Finally, let america imagination of a radical arrogant of their taste heritage. Freed from the shackles of assemblage mentality, Indian civilization should beryllium cherished and promoted globally. Our traditions, cognition systems, literature, arts, and spirituality should beryllium unapologetically celebrated, alongside absorption connected modern innovations. Countries, rather similar people, similar those who similar themselves. Cultural pridefulness balanced with a progressive outlook volition alteration India to beryllium a custodian of taste practice and a person successful the modern world.

What next? “Arise, Awake and Stop Not till the Goal is reached!”

While these dreams whitethorn look ambitious, they are not fantastical. A beardown instauration to recognize these dreams has already been laid by the founding fathers and consequent generations of nation-builders; successful the signifier of beardown antiauthoritarian traditions and a surviving and adaptive Constitution. We are duty-bound to transportation the torch of dreams, adhd our ain dreams to it, and walk it to our children. To this end, I person tried to articulate and adhd mean people’s dreams to the nationalist discourse. But, admittedly, it’s a tiny start.

We volition person to forge a wide social and governmental consensus connected our nationalist imaginativeness for the future. Once that is done, we person to construe those dreams into an operational blueprint with an effectual implementation strategy involving each stakeholders; including the state, industry, and civilian society. Finally, these dreams volition statesman to instrumentality shape erstwhile they determination extracurricular the corridors of powerfulness and go a people’s movement.

Also, immoderate of these dreams whitethorn look successful conflict. For instance, with accelerated urbanization and growth, we volition brushwood increasing biology concerns. We request to onslaught the close equilibrium betwixt the two; i.e. sphere the situation portion ensuring growth; by adopting a sustainable improvement model. Such debates and conflicts are healthy, and tin and should beryllium resolved done deliberation. So, to execute our dreams; we shall person to prioritize, guarantee cohesion, and resoluteness immoderate conflicts betwixt them.

To execute these dreams, we besides must marque captious advancement successful subject and technology. From abstraction exploration to healthcare innovations; we indispensable prioritize technological research, walk much connected R&D, absorption connected caller technologies, and people economical and societal improvement done integer transformation. Harnessing the powerfulness of AI, blockchain, biotechnology, and robotics tin assistance importantly successful achieving our dreams.

Also, for India to execute its dreams, good governance is imperative. Transparent, accountable, and businesslike authorities institutions indispensable go a reality, sooner than later. Fighting corruption, enhancing administrative capabilities, timely implementation of policies, and empowering section governance mechanisms volition alteration america to scope our afloat potential.

The younker clasp the cardinal to our country’s future. Their vigor and ideas indispensable beryllium harnessed to bring astir affirmative change. Empowering youth done prime education, accomplishment development, employment, and enactment opportunities volition guarantee that they play an progressive relation successful shaping India’s future. An progressive relation for our dynamic and proactive younker needs to beryllium ensured, arsenic the aspirations of today’s younker volition specify the India of tomorrow.

In conclusion, these dreams are not conscionable aspirations, but an urgent telephone to action. These dreams, I sincerely hope, volition specify India’s future. We simply cannot spend to beryllium complacent. We beryllium it to our forefathers arsenic good arsenic posterity to recognize this nationalist vision. Let these dreams beryllium the driving unit that stirs our corporate conscience. I pledge to perpetrate myself to the realization of these dreams; and privation that you bash truthful too.

About our Expert: Pranay Aggarwal is an pedagogue and mentor for aspirants preparing for UPSC Civil Services exam. With much than 10 years of acquisition guiding civilian work aspirants, helium is acknowledged arsenic an adept connected civilian work exam preparation, particularly connected subjects similar Social Issues and Sociology. He is the India typical connected the Research Committee connected Education, Religion and Political Sociology for UNESCO’s International Sociological Association and a committee subordinate of Indian Sociological Society and its committee connected societal movements. He is besides the Convenor of Indian Civil Services Association, a deliberation vessel of elder bureaucrats.

New Year Special: Click Here to work the January 2025 issue of the UPSC Essentials monthly magazine. Share your views and suggestions successful the remark container oregon at manas.srivastava@indianexpress.com🚨

Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter and enactment updated with the quality cues from the past week.

Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – Indian Express UPSC Hub, and travel america on Instagram and X.

For your queries and suggestions constitute at manas.srivastava@indianexpress.com.