Phenomenal collection of 10 Best Essays for Students

Phenomenal collection of 10 best essays for Students on 1. Essay on Cold War 2. Essay on Judicial Accountability 3. Essay on “Sons of the Soil” 4. Essay on Bureaucracy 5. Essay on State 6. Essay on reservation of seats for women in Parliament 7. Essay on Virtue is knowledge 8. Essay on Mid-term election 9. Essay on “bargaining federalism” 10. Essay on Importance of State Politics in India

10 best essays

1. Essay on Cold War

The Cold War (1947-1991), was the continuing state of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition existing after World War II (1939-1945) between the Communist World- primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies-and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States and its allies.

Although the primary participants’ military force never officially clashed directly, they expressed the conflict through military coalitions, strategic conventional force deployments, extensive aid to states deemed vulnerable, proxy wars, espionage, propaganda, conventional and nuclear arms races, appeals to neutral nations, rivalry at sports events, and technological competitions such as the Space Race.

At the end of World War II, English author and journalist George Orwell used the term Cold War in his essay “You and the Atomic Bomb”, published October 19, 1945, in the British newspaper Tribune. Contemplating a world living in the shadow of the threat of nuclear warfare, he warned of a “peace that is no peace”, which he called a permanent “cold war”, Orwell directly referred to that war as the ideological confrontation between the Soviet Union and the Western powers. Moreover, in The Observer of March 10, 1946, Orwell wrote that “after the Moscow conference last December, Russia began to make a ‘cold war’ on Britain and the British Empire.”

The first use of the term to describe the post-World War II geopolitical tensions between the USSR and its satellites and the United States and its western European allies is attributed to Bernard Baruch, an American financier and presidential advisor. In South Carolina, on April 16, 1947, he delivered a speech (by journalist Herbert Bayard Swope) saying, “Let us not be deceived: we are today in the midst of a cold war.” Newspaper reporter-columnist Walter Lippmann gave the term wide currency, with the book Cold War (1947).

2. Essay on Judicial Accountability

The former Chief Justice of India, S.P. Bharucha, seemed to be echoing the lament in Hamlet,

“Something is rotten in the State of Denmark” when he moaned recently that the integrity of about 20 per cent of the higher Judiciary was in doubt. Article 124(4) of the Constitution provides for the removal of a judge only on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity. The process of impeachment is cumbersome and the result uncertain.

Effective alternative measures are necessary because in a democracy governed by the rule of law under a written Constitution the Judiciary has been assigned the role of a sentinel on the qui vive to protect the fundamental rights and to hold even the scales of justice between the citizen and the state.

There are credible complaints against the higher Judiciary. People talk with nostalgia of the not-so- distant past when, win or lose, the integrity of the higher judiciary was never doubted. As the Supreme Court has said, “judicial office is essentially public trust.

Society is, therefore, entitle to expect that a judge must be a man of high integrity, honesty and required to have moral vigor, ethical firmness and impervious to corrupt or venal influences”.

3. Essay on “Sons of the Soil”

Indian soil has nurtured each of us, made us all what we are. Indian soil, I want to emphasise. The perversity only starts there. In Assam (now Asom), some sons of that soil call themselves ULFA; in Maharashtra, other sons of this soil call themselves the Shiv Sena.

Both speak the identical language of “outsiders” taking away jobs that “rightfully” belong to “locals”. But ULFA is a “banned outfit”, regularly called anti-national. The Shiv Sena, we are told, is filled with fervent patriots. So fervent that they are an important part of the coalition that runs the country today: A feel-good thought if there ever was one.

In Maharashtra, the Congress chief minister and his NCP deputy also speak the same language. Actually, politicians in every state find it politically lucrative to do so. Sometimes they even do it outside their states. In 1994, the Sena’s BAL Thackeray went to Goa and urged audiences to “keep non-Goans out of Goa” by implementing a permit system.

The irony of this advice coming from a non-Goan seems to have escaped both Mr. Thackeray and his listeners. Where is this logic, if it is logic, going to leave us? Will we pursue it even if it means more lives lost? Will we hold to it until it breaks us? What happened to those constitutional guarantees that any Indian can settle and work anywhere in India?

The Constitution urged us to turn ourselves into an educated whole by instituting primary education for all, and that by 1960. Has that urging translated into reality? The Constitution guarantees justice to every Indian, unqualified by caste, wealth or religion. Would the victims of Delhi 1984, Bombay 1992- 93, or Gujarat 2002, picking just three great Indian tragedies, agree that that promise has been fulfilled?

The truth is the madness we’ve seen in Assam, Bihar and Maharashtra of late is hardly a matter the Constitution can solve. So what if Article 19 gives us the freedom to move anywhere in our country? More persuasive by far is the logic a son of the soil mouths. Logic like that, a son like that, has contempt for a document written half a century ago. Indeed:

The theory of sons of the soil is pernicious, wrong, and foolish and several other adjectives, I could come up with. But not because it violates the spirit of a solemn public document. It is so because it destroys us: You, me, Assamese, Biharis, Maharashtrians, and Indians. Sons of the soil. Humans. I mean more than 50 Indian corpses across Assam, this thing called “retaliation”. With their recent cycle of retaliation, Bihar and Assam have lived once more through the mayhem that is the only thing sons of the soil ever produce.

4. Essay on Bureaucracy

India has a long tradition of bureaucratic functionaries. But, it was under the British imperial rule that the foundation of contemporary bureaucratic administration was laid. With the growing functions of the modern state, bureaucracy has come to occupy a place of pre-eminence and wields a lot of influence and even control over policies of the government.

At the time of independence India inherited a stagnant economy, disturbed by riots and exhibiting maladies of poverty, hunger, squalor, illiteracy and ignorance. Lack of resources and incapacity of the poor masses, motivated the leadership to envisage a scheme where state would play a major role in socio­economic sector. They opted for twin objective of administrative development and developmental administrative to fulfils the objectives of a throbbing polity.

Role of Bureaucracy in Effecting Socio-Economic Changes:

Some of the steps that were taken by the government with the assistance of bureaucracy to achieve the ideal of social justice were:

i. Land reform programmes

ii. Community development programmes

iii. Democratic decentralization

iv. Poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes.

Limitations of Bureaucratic Functioning:

The results showed a compromising approach. It showed that the administrative system continued with machinery and personnel whose ethos and socio-economic outlooks were completely out of tune with the goal and values enshrined in the Constitution of India.

Causes of Failures:

The transformation brought about by the bureaucracy remained slow. The main reason was lack of competent and experienced leadership under whose influence bureaucracy was to function. Taking advantage of this situation, bureaucracy continued to grow in power. The growth of unwarranted power was highlighted by A.D. Gorewala Report (1951), Appleby Report (1953), Administrative Reform Commission (1966-70), and Kothari Committee (1976).

The uncooperative and rude nature of the Bureaucracy is observed by C.P. Bhambari “in the Indian context there is dissonance between the orientation and attitude of higher civil servants and the national goals of planning, equality, secularism, social justice and democracy.” Edward Shils says that the most vigorous of the intelectually endowed and highly educated go into administration, science, technology, journalism and even into industry where the reward are high enough but politics-party politics puts them off.”

The increase in the functions of the Bureaucracy made the state more authoritative in the context of individual’s development. Soon corruption was prominently visible in the ranks of bureaucracy. Further, the economic crisis, poverty, social crisis aggravated the situation and criminal bureaucracy nexus got into operation. This aspect has been reported by Vohra Committee.

With the move towards liberalized market economy replacing the state sheltered economy by a new package of industrial, fiscal and trade policies, the scenario is expected to change. There has been continued stress on dismantling “License-quota permit Raj” and giving way to market friendly economy. The role of civil servants would certainly undergo a sea change. It has already begun to manifest in areas of financial and regulatory administration.

Conclusion:

Bureaucracy can not wish to remain aloof from the societal environment. Rather, it has to realize that it is a part of it. It need to have a clear understanding of the social structure, value orientation, interplay of social, economic and political forces in the new situation. The bureaucratic mindset, procastination, inertia etc. must give way to attitudes and values typifying initiative, rigour, empathy, sense of commitment as demanded by time.

It needs to move from an ethic of power to ethic of service. It will also have to show more sensitivity to the virtue of integrity, functional efficiency and a source of fair play and impartiality.

Developing a new administrative culture is the need of the hour. To ensure a flexible and simplified structure and procedure we need to imbibe the spirit of development administration.

It must be accepted that the system cannot be changed overnight, but there is a immediate need to begin now. The enactment of Right to Information Act (2005) and trend towards more such enactment, viz., Whistle Blower Act will go a long way in heralding a new era of administration. Similarly according constitutional status to Panchayati Raj institutions is likely to bridge the gap between people and administration.

5. Essay on State

The term ‘State’ has been differently defined by different thinkers. According to Prof. Hall, “State is a community permanently established for a political end, that is possesses a definite territory and that is independent of external control”.

Laski has said about state, “it is a territorial society divided into Government and subjects claiming within its allotted physical area, a supremacy over all other institutions”. Prof. Woodrow Wilson has said that State is “a people organised for law within a definite territory”.

Oppenheim has defined state as “people settled in a country under its own sovereign Government”. MacIver has defined it as “an association which acting through law as promulgated by Government endowed to this end with coercive power, maintains within the community territorially demarcated universal external condition of social order”.

But the most appropriate definition has been given by Garner. He says “State is a community of persons more or less numerous permanently occupying a definite portion of organised Government to which the great body of inhabitants render habitual obedience”. We thus find that for a State it is essential to have (a) population (b) territory (c) government and (d) sovereignty.

(a) Population:

No state can exist without permanent population. But what should be the exact desirable population of an ideal state is subject of difference of opinion. Plato, for example, said that population of a city state should not exceed 5040 citizens. Aristotle on the other hand said that population of state should be large enough to repulse aggression and small enough to be efficiently governed.

Modern states have, however, shown a different tendency. The states like the U.S.S.R., Germany and Italy have always complained of shortage of manpower and have encouraged couples to produce more children. On the other hand, in countries like India, family planning has always been encouraged.

(b) Territory:

It is another important factor which is essential for constituting a state. In fact, common territory is a great unifying force and creates oneness of action and behaviour. It forges and strengthens sense of unity both in social and political life.

Like population, it is also disputable as to what should be the size of territory of a state. Plato, Aristotle and other ancient thinkers believed that territory should be very small, with Rousseau who also said that large territory would weaken social bonds.

But this tendency is being depreciated in modern times. Now-a-days it is a tendency on the part of all states to have vast territories. It is felt that more territories mean more scope for minerals and other natural resources. It also means more air space which is very much valued in modern times. It is also felt that small states are a danger and always pose a problem in international affairs.

Like population, area of a state is considered, no criteria or standard for the strength of a state. What is considered is that each state must have a definite territory in which it can act. According to Gettell, “An any rate, the possession of territory is a necessary basis for all modern states, and the idea of territorial sovereignty and jurisdiction is firmly embedded in present political states”.

(c) Government:

Neither population or territory alone can form a State. For the formation of State it is essential that there must be an agency to give laws to the masses and organise them in a proper manner. In fact, Government is an expression of State will. Gettell has rightly said, “In its broader sense, then the Government may be defined as the sum of those that exercise or may exercise sovereign power of the State”.

(d) Sovereignty:

Sovereignty is the only factor which distinguishes a state from other associations. Without sovereignty, there can be no state in technical sense. From sovereignty it is understood both internal as well as external sovereignty. Internal sovereignty means that bulk of the population residing in the territory to the state should give their obedience and support to the authority.

They should be most ready and willing even to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the state. They should see that the state is respected and honoured. From external sovereignty it is understood that the state should be treated at par with other states and should not be assigned any inferior position; it is also understood that the state should be free to enact its own laws as well as foreign policy without any external pressure. All are required to obey state commands without taking into consideration their own convenience.

It is such sovereignty alone which is an essential ingredient and characteristic in the formation of the State. Without internal and external sovereignty it is no better than an association.

6. Essay on reservation of seats for women in Parliament

On March 9, 2010 the most consequential act of lawmaking since independence for womankind happened, when the Rajya Sabha (The Upper House of India) voted to amend the constitution to reserve 33% of seats in Parliament and the State Assemblies for women. The bill seeks to bring more women into parliament by reserving seats.

The need of the hour is women empowerment now. The fact can’t be denied even so much years of gaining independence and self-governance, there is need to protect the interest of women in India. Several instances here and there prove this truth.

The bill will provide 33 per cent of compulsory presence of women representing various parties in the lower house of the Parliament and the Assemblies. There is a fear of losing elections, if the women candidates are allowed to contest from various constituencies. But the advantage is that, more and more active women leaders from village, Panchayat and Zila Panchayat will get the platform to enter into the national level politics. The need to give importance to national level politics, which is the ultimate for development of individual consistencies.

The women’s reservation bell has been a political agenda for more than a decade. It has always triggered debates in parliament and outside. Its advocates say the bill is essential for active political participation of women. Opponents argue that reservation would help women of elitist groups gain political power, aggravating the plight of the poor and deprived section.

The Women’s Reservation Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha on 9 March, 2010 by a majority vote of 186 against 1. It will not go to the Lok Sabha, and if passed, would be implemented. The law ministry has prepared two drafts of the women’s reservation bill.

The first envisages reservation of 33.3 per cent seats for women within the existing strength of the two Houses of Parliament. The second calls for increasing the strength of the two houses by 33.3 per cent. The existing 546 seats in the Lok Sabha will increase to 900 if this draft of the Bill is enacted.

The discussion regarding the pros and cons of reservation is an important tool to tackle this question. The major question is whether this change is required at the parliamentary level, and is reservation an effective answer to it. There is a general objection that this would lead to creation of dummy women leaders like of Rabri Devi and more.

This objection is true from its stand point. But even if a dummy woman is acting, it is definitely going to be change; it inspires women like Kiran Bedi, to leave everything and came into politics. Also, then at least 10% of 33% of the women would be genuine and capable leaders.

7. Essay on Virtue is knowledge

Virtue is moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality deemed to be morally excellent and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. Personal virtues are characteristics valued as promoting individual and collective well being. The opposite of virtue is vice.

Virtue is a behaviour showing a high moral standard and is a pattern of thought and behaviour based on high moral standards. Virtues can be placed into a broader context of values. Each individual has a core of underlying values that contribute to his or her system of beliefs, ideas and/or opinions (see value in semiotics).

Integrity in the application of a value ensures its continuity and this continuity separates a value from beliefs, opinion and ideas. In this context, a value (e.g., Truth or Equality or Creed) is the core from which we operate or react. Societies have values that are shared among many of the participants in that culture. An individual’s values typically are largely, but not entirely, in agreement with his or her culture’s values.

8. Essay on Mid-term election

A mid-term election refers to a type of staggered election where the members take office at the middle of the term of another set of members, or of the executive. This is usually used to describe elections to a upper house of a legislature where only a fraction of seats are up.

In elections to the United States Congress, the point of reference is the president’s term. The senators as there are three classes of United States Senators; each election replaces one class, hence a “mid-term election” appears as one-third through the term of one class and two-thirds to through the other.

While the Philippines and Liberia also conducts mid-term elections, the winners of such elections take office in their respective legislative bodies that conducts such elections do so mid-way through the term of half of the other members, hence for the members who were not up for election, the incoming members take office mid-way through their terms.

While House of Councilors of Japan uses a staggered election, there are no fixed terms to compare with as the House of Representatives have a variable term, and the position of the emperor is hereditary. The results of such mid-term election serves as a measuring stick to the popularity of the incumbent executive, although in the United States the ruling party has suffered election defeats for most of the time.

9. Essay on “bargaining federalism”

Bridging the fields of federalism and negotiation theory, Negotiating Federalism analyzes how public actors navigate difficult federalism terrain by negotiating directly with counterparts across state- federal lines.

In contrast to the stylized, zero-sum model of federalism that dominates political discourse and judicial doctrine, it demonstrates that the boundary between state and federal power is negotiated on scales large and small, on an ongoing basis. The Article is also the first to recognize the procedural tools that bilateral federalism bargaining offers to supplement unilateral federalism interpretation in contexts of jurisdictional overlap.

The Article begins by situating its inquiry within the central federalism discourse about which branch can best safeguard the values that give federalism meaning: Congress, though political safeguards; the Court, by judicially enforceable constraints; or the Executive, through administrative process.

Each school, however, considers only unilateral branch activity-missing the important ways that branch actor’s work bilaterally across state-federal lines to protect federalism values through various forms of negotiated governance.

Because unilateral interpretive methods fail to establish clear boundaries at the margins of state and federal authority, regulators increasingly turn to procedural constraints within intergovernmental bargaining to allocate contested authority and facilitate collaboration in uncertain federalism territory. Negotiation thus bridges interpretive gaps unresolved by more conventionally understood forms of interpretation.

Creating the first theoretical framework for organizing federalism bargaining, the Article provides a taxonomy of the different opportunities for state-federal bargaining available within various constitutional and statutory frameworks.

Highlighting forms of conventional bargaining, negotiations to reallocate authority, and joint policymaking bargaining, the article maps this vast, uncharted landscape with illustrations ranging from the 2009 Stimulus Bill to Medicaid to climate policy.

The taxonomy demonstrates how widely federalism bargaining permeates American governance, including not only the familiar example of spending power deals, but also subtler forms that have escaped previous scholarly notice as forms of negotiation at all.

The Article then reviews the different media of exchange within federalism bargaining and what legal rules constrain them, together with supporting data from primary sources. Finally, it evaluates how federalism bargaining can supplement unilateral interpretation, legitimized by the procedural constraints of mutual consent and the procedural engineering of regard for federalism values.

Having offered recommendations about the kinds of federalism bargaining that should be encouraged, the Article offers recommendations for legislators, executive actors, stakeholders, practitioners, and adjudicators about how best to accomplish these goals.

10. Essay on Importance of State Politics in India

The principle of Federalism in India provides for two levels of Governments: one at the union level and another at the state level.

The constitution in Part VI provides for organization of state government same as the centre. The three lists viz; Union, Concurrent and State list provide for division of power. The state government legislates on both concurrent and state subjects. But in certain circumstances these power may be vested in the Union Parliament.

The form of organization of the state level is same as that at the centre. There exists a Parliamentary form of government at the centre as well as in the states. But there are striking variance in the powers and functions of the institutions. It is striking that although national politics continues to affect the states in substantial degree, there occurs variance in their response. Such developments reflectors the differences in socio-economic and ethical milieu.

Proof, Iqbal Narain hints that any study of state politics in India must include history of a state, historical identity of the state, its political status before independence, its role in the freedom struggle, the impact of integration of princely states or of linguistic reorganization, geographical location, infrastructure manifesting itself in social pluralism, the level and pattern of economic development, human resources, the level of education and urbanization. Chief Features

Despite the limitations of approaches and diversity of real politic, some prominent features of state politics can be broadly categorized. Caste plays a very vibrant role in the state politics. It was manifestation of an organized association rather than a natural social group.

Morris Jones observes that while top leaders may proclaim the goal of a casteless society, the newly enfranchised rural masses know only the language of traditional politics which so largely turns around caste. Similarly rise of political parties like Rastriya Janata Dal, Samajwadi Party could be explained in terms of rise of OBC’s.

Most of the states are plagued by factionalism. The conflict and rivalry between political parties for posts remain a crucial phenomenon. There is very high party competitiveness in the states. With the decline of one party dominant system, this trend has become an important aspect of state politics. Myron Weiner observes that party competitiveness increase as we move from national politics to state politics.

There has increased political participation of people. Even in states with lower rates of literacy and a less degree of urbanization, political participation has been greater due to linguistic agitations and nationalist movements. The spirit of regionalism has become strong. The regional political parties have come to have a larger share in national politics.

There are many instances when the happenings in one state usually have only a local effect and do not produce any repercussion even in the other regions of the same state. As a result of all these factors there has arisen a situation where in the regional leaders have raised populist slogans and anti-centre postures. Even the states are witnessing political instability and serious upheavals.