UPSC Mains 2017 GS Paper 4 Q4a: model answer
One of the tests of integrity is complete refusal to be compromised. Explain with reference to a real life example.
What the question wants
Explain why refusing every compromise is a test of integrity, using a real-life example.
How to structure it
Explain, example, nuance.
- Meaning
- Why partial integrity fails
- Real example
- Integrity vs rigidity
How to think it through
Integrity: wholeness; no 'small' compromises; slippery slope, once compromised you're blackmailable. Example: Lal Bahadur Shastri resigned 1956 over Ariyalur train accident (moral responsibility)—hmm, that is about accountability. Better: Satyendra Dubey; or T.N. Seshan; or E. Sreedharan; Ashok Khemka. Use Satyendra Dubey (2003) or S. Manjunath. Nuance: compromise on method fine, not on values; flexibility vs compromise.
Model answer
'Just this once' is the most dangerous phrase in public life. An officer who accepts one small favour has already told everyone his price.
Why integrity means complete refusal
- Integrity comes from 'integer', a whole number. A person cannot be honest most of the time.
- The slippery slope: one compromise makes the next easier and leaves the officer open to blackmail.
- Public trust: citizens cannot tell which of an officer's decisions were the bought ones, so all lose value.
A real-life example
- S. Manjunath, a young IIM graduate and Indian Oil marketing manager, found that petrol pumps in Lakhimpur Kheri were selling adulterated fuel. He sealed them. He was offered money and threatened,
and still refused. In November 2005 he was shot dead.
- His refusal was complete: no partial sealing, no 'settlement'. The Manjunath Shanmugam Trust and IIM Lucknow now remember him every year.
Integrity is not rigidity
- An officer may compromise on methods, timelines and tone.
- He may never compromise on values: honesty, fairness and the law.
Integrity is not tested in the office manual; it is tested when someone shuts the door and names a figure.
Draw: A staircase going down, labelled 'just this once' → 'small favour' → 'blackmail' → 'capture'.
Keywords, cases and data to drop in
integrity, integer/wholeness, slippery slope, blackmail risk, public trust, S. Manjunath 2005, Lakhimpur Kheri, fuel adulteration, method vs value compromise.
Where most answers lose marks
- Giving only a definition and a hypothetical, when the question asks for a real-life example.
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Fresh examples from current affairs
Supreme Court: no prior approval under Section 17A needed to probe a bribe demand
In a judgment of 16 October 2026, a Supreme Court Bench of Justices S.V.N. Bhatti and N.V. Anjaria held that investigating a bribe demand by a public servant does not need prior approval under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Asking for a bribe, the court said, is not part of discharging official duties.
UPSC angle: Prelims: Sections 7, 7A, 17A and 19 of the PC Act. · Mains GS-II/GS-IV: honest officers versus accountability.
19 Oct 2026Learn the concept
Question text as printed in the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) question paper. The model answer is original Battle IAS work; use it to learn structure, not to memorise.
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