Mains Practice Questions

1.“Popular will may shape law, but it cannot be the foundation of justice.”

Quotes to Enrich Your Essay

• MK Gandhi : “In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place.”
• Plato : “Justice means minding one’s own business and not meddling with other men’s concerns.”
• John Rawls: “Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought.”

Interpreting the Statement

• Popular will represents collective preferences, emotions, and social consensus at a given time.
• Justice, however, is rooted in enduring moral principles such as fairness, dignity, equality, and truth.
• While democratic societies allow public opinion to influence law-making, justice must remain anchored in ethical universals rather than shifting majorities.

Philosophical and Ethical Foundations

• Distinction between Opinion and Principle
  • Public opinion is descriptive—it reflects what society thinks.
  • Justice is normative—it reflects what society ought to uphold.
  • Plato warned that truth and goodness cannot be determined by numbers but by reason.
• Moral Universality
  • Immanuel Kant argued that moral actions must be guided by universal principles, not by social approval.
  • If morality were crowd-dependent, ethical consistency would collapse across time and cultures.
• Indian Ethical Thought
  • The concept of Dharma in Indian philosophy signifies righteousness beyond convenience or consensus.
  • Swami Vivekananda asserted, “Truth does not pay homage to any society, ancient or modern.”

Contemporary Relevance

• Media and Instant Opinion
  • Social media amplifies outrage and majoritarian sentiment.
  • Justice guided by trending opinions risks becoming impulsive and inconsistent.
• Minority and Marginalised Voices
  • Popularity will often sidelines vulnerable groups.
  • Justice exists precisely to protect those without numerical strength.
• Governance and Policy
  • Welfare, policing, and public morality debates reveal tension between empathy-based justice and populist demands.
  • Ethical governance requires resisting pressure to satisfy the crowd at the cost of fairness.

Ethical Synthesis

• Law may evolve through democratic participation.
• Justice must evolve through moral reflection.
• Popular will can inform justice, but cannot define it.
• As Dr. B.R. Ambedkar warned, without constitutional morality, democracy becomes merely a form without substance.

Conclusion

• Public opinion is transient; justice must be timeless. Societies progress when principles restrain power and popularity.
  • Justice rooted in conscience safeguards human dignity across generations. Also, true justice often begins as dissent.

2. “Integrity begins where convenience ends.”

Quotes to Enrich Your Essay

• C. S. Lewis: “Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.”
• Swami Vivekanand: “Stand up, be bold, be strong.
• Warren Buffett: “In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy. And if they do not have the first, the other two will kill you.”

Introduction: Understanding the Idea

• Integrity is the alignment of values, words, and actions, especially under pressure.
• Convenience offers shortcuts, comfort, and compromise.
• The statement highlights that integrity reveals itself not in ease, but in ethical resistance.
  • As C.S. Lewis observed, “Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.”

Philosophical and Ethical Dimensions

• Integrity as Moral Consistency: Ethics demands action even when it entails personal loss.
  • Aristotle viewed virtue as habitual right action, not situational adjustment.
• Indian Philosophical Insight
  • The Bhagavad Gita emphasises Nishkama Karma—doing one’s duty without attachment to outcomes.
  • Mahatma Gandhi embodied integrity by choosing suffering over expedient compromise.
• Psychology of Moral Choice
  • Convenience reduces ethical dilemmas into cost-benefit calculations.
  • Integrity restores conscience as the guiding force.

Integrity Tested in Adversity

• Individual Level
  • Speaking the truth despite social isolation.
  • Refusing corruption despite financial hardship.
  • Whistleblowers often act at great personal cost.
• Leadership and Public Life
  • Leaders face pressure to prioritise popularity over principles.
  • Abraham Lincoln noted, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”
• Institutional Integrity
  • Organisations lose credibility when ethics are sacrificed for efficiency or profit.
  • Trust erodes faster than it is built.

Social and Contemporary Context

• Workplace Ethics
  • Normalisation of shortcuts, data manipulation, and ethical blindness.
  • Integrity-driven institutions sustain long-term legitimacy.
• Technology and Modern Life
  • Ease of misinformation, plagiarism, and digital anonymity tests moral restraint.
  • Ethical conduct becomes harder—but more necessary—in low-accountability spaces.
• Public Trust
  • Societies function on trust, which depends on integrity, not convenience.
  • Once compromised, trust is difficult to restore.

Ethical Synthesis

• Convenience asks, “What is easiest?”
• Integrity asks, “What is right?”
  • Progress without integrity produces efficiency without ethics.

Conclusion

Integrity is not situational; it is foundational. Moral character is shaped by choices made under pressure. Civilisations endure not because they choose convenience, but because individuals choose conscience. Integrity, though costly, remains the most sustainable form of strength.