Q1. Critically analyse how competing interpretations of Eurasia by Russia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine reflect differing civilizational and geopolitical visions.
Analytical Focus for Answer:
• Highlight Russia’s Slavic-centric conception of Eurasia.
• Contrast Kazakhstan’s syncretic Central Asian interpretation rooted in Gumilev’s and Valikhanov’s works.
• Explain Ukraine’s counter-view asserting a pure Slavic-European tilt.
• Evaluate how these divergent visions shape present-day power dynamics in the post-Soviet space.
Model Answer
Introduction
Eurasia is not only a geographical expanse but also a civilizational idea that bridges Europe and Asia. Since the end of the Soviet Union, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine have articulated distinct interpretations of Eurasian identity shaped by their history, culture, and political goals.
Body
• Russia’s historical outlook: Russia views itself as the core of Eurasian civilization that merges Slavic and Asian traditions.
• Civilizational assertion: Russian thinkers like Alexander Dugin present Eurasia as a counter to Western dominance and a foundation of multipolar world order.
• Strategic expression: Russia’s leadership in the Eurasian Economic Union and Collective Security Treaty Organisation illustrates its desire for geopolitical centrality in the region.
• Ukraine’s alternative narrative: Ukraine identifies more with Europe than with a Russian-led Eurasian framework.
• Cultural self-definition: Ukraine emphasizes an independent Slavic identity connected to European democratic traditions.
• Geopolitical choice: Closer ties with NATO and the European Union reflect Ukraine’s aspiration to move beyond Moscow’s sphere of influence.
• Kazakhstan’s inclusive idea: Kazakhstan promotes Eurasia as a cultural and economic bridge between Asia and Europe.
• Syncretic roots: Drawing from Turkic, Mongol, and Slavic influences, it upholds a plural civilizational identity.
• Cooperative vision: Former President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s “Eurasian Union” proposal (1994) focused on equal partnership and development over dominance.
Conclusion
The three interpretations of Eurasia reveal the contest between power and identity in the post-Soviet region. Russia pursues leadership, Ukraine asserts independence, and Kazakhstan seeks harmony — together defining Eurasia’s evolving geopolitical meaning.
Q2. Discuss the relevance of the Eurasian geopolitical framework for India’s contemporary foreign policy engagement with Central Asia and Russia.
Analytical Focus for Answer:
• Establish the strategic significance of Eurasia for India’s extended neighbourhood policy.
• Assess how India’s connectivity initiatives (INSTC, Chabahar, SCO) align with the Eurasian framework.
• Examine opportunities in energy, technology, and security partnerships with Russia and Central Asia.
• Identify challenges posed by Russia–West rivalry and China’s growing footprint in the region.
• Conclude with how India can balance engagement through multi-alignment and strategic autonomy.
Model Answer
Introduction
Eurasia, linking Europe and Asia through Russia and Central Asia, is regaining global importance. For India, the region is vital for connectivity, energy security, and balanced engagement in a multipolar world.
Body
• Historical connection: India’s relations with Eurasia trace back to the Silk Route and shared civilizational exchanges.
• Post-Soviet outreach: After 1991, India deepened engagement with Russia and newly independent Central Asian states to secure its strategic interests.
• Institutional engagement: India participates in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and maintains dialogue with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) to promote regional stability and trade.
• Connectivity goals: Projects like the International North-South Transport Corridor and Chabahar Port aim to link India with Russia and Central Asia through efficient transport networks.
• Energy cooperation: Eurasia’s vast oil, gas, and uranium reserves align with India’s need for reliable and diversified energy sources.
• Economic ties: Increasing oil imports from Russia and cooperation with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in minerals and technology reflect India’s deepening economic links.
• Strategic balance: Russia’s confrontation with the West and Central Asia’s multi-vector diplomacy allow India to act as a bridge rather than a bloc ally.
• Security collaboration: Counterterrorism and regional stability form key pillars of India’s engagement within the Eurasian framework.
• Challenges to engagement: China’s growing influence through the Belt and Road Initiative, Western sanctions on Russia, and instability in Afghanistan restrict India’s strategic space.
• Policy approach: India’s multi-alignment strategy helps it balance relations with Russia, the West, and Central Asian nations without compromising autonomy.
Conclusion
Eurasia remains central to India’s long-term strategic and economic vision. By combining energy partnerships, connectivity projects, and balanced diplomacy, India can turn Eurasia into a zone of cooperation that strengthens its position in the evolving world order.
Q3. Critically examine the growing significance of environmental surveillance in India’s public health strategy, with special reference to wastewater-based epidemiology.
Analytical Focus for Answer:
• Define the concept: Explain environmental surveillance and its working mechanism — especially wastewater-based epidemiology.
• Highlight its importance: Early warning signals, complementing clinical case detection, and improving outbreak preparedness.
• Trace global and Indian experience: Mention use in tracking diseases like cholera, polio, and COVID-19; India’s ICMR initiatives across 50 cities.
• Assess challenges: Lack of standardised protocols, data-sharing gaps, and limited integration with existing public health systems.
• Suggest measures: Need for national framework, inter-agency coordination, and programmatic (not project-based) approaches.
• Conclude critically: Emphasise its transformative potential for One Health surveillance, but stress the necessity of institutionalised and ethical data governance frameworks.
Model Answer
Introduction
Environmental surveillance is gaining importance as a proactive tool in disease control. By analysing sewage and other environmental samples, it helps detect pathogens even before symptoms appear in people. In India’s context of limited testing and high population density, such surveillance provides early warning and complements routine health monitoring.
Body
• Concept: Environmental surveillance identifies pathogens shed by infected individuals through stool or urine: these are traced in sewage, hospital effluents, or public places to map community infections.
• Comprehensive Scope: It covers not only viruses and bacteria but also parasitic infections like roundworms and hookworms: this allows continuous monitoring of disease burden and control effectiveness.
• Scientific Process: Rigorous sampling protocols and genome sequencing are used: this ensures accuracy, comparability, and identification of new pathogen variants.
• Early-Warning Advantage: Pathogen levels in wastewater rise before clinical cases do: this gives health authorities time to prepare for outbreaks and implement preventive measures.
• Public Health Value: It provides a fuller picture of infections than clinical testing alone: many people with mild or no symptoms go untested, but their infections still appear in sewage data.
• Global Experience: Wastewater-based epidemiology has been used for decades to track diseases such as polio, cholera, and measles: it has proven value in early detection and public health planning.
• Indian Experience: India began wastewater surveillance for polio in Mumbai in 2001: during the COVID-19 pandemic, five cities adopted similar systems to monitor community infection trends.
• Recent Initiative: The ICMR now plans surveillance of ten viruses across fifty cities: this expands monitoring to include avian influenza and integrates environmental data into disease databases.
• Challenges: Lack of uniform protocols, fragmented projects, and weak data-sharing hinder coordination: without a national framework, long-term sustainability remains uncertain.
• Emerging Innovations: Machine learning can analyse public coughing sounds and link them to respiratory illness trends: this can complement wastewater surveillance in the future.
• Way Forward: India needs a national surveillance system with inter-agency coordination and standard protocols: programmatic, not project-based, approaches should guide the strategy.
Conclusion
Environmental surveillance marks a major shift from reactive to preventive health management. By integrating wastewater data into India’s public health framework, the country can improve outbreak prediction and response. However, sustained funding, institutional coordination, and transparent data practices are crucial for turning this innovation into a long-term national public health asset.