Polity is a very important subject of the UPSC preparation. Many aspirants find the subject to be dry and theoretical but Polity is an interesting subject and is a major subject both in UPSC Prelims and Mains. GS Paper-2, which is mandatory for all candidates, consists of Polity , Governance and International Relations. Despite being a non-technical paper, this paper has consistently been shown to be more scoring over the years.
Many aspirants follow M. Laxmikant for their prelims preparation but are confused about whether this would suffice for the Mains paper or not. In this article we will discuss the importance of M. Laxmikant in the UPSC Mains preparation. Aspirants are advised to go through the UPSC GS-II Syllabus to know in detail about the topics covered under this paper.
Importance of M Laxmikant for UPSC Exam
UPSC Prelims– Polity is a major subject when it comes to prelims. Every year almost 30-32 questions are asked from this section. The nature of the questions are mostly factual and it is a high scoring subject. Laxmikant alone can get you close to a perfect score in the Polity portion of the Prelims. Even for a beginner reading Polity for the first time, the language used is clear and easy to comprehend. However, due to its factual nature, it must be revised more. Hence it will not be wrong to say that for prelims Laxmikant is more than sufficient.
UPSC Mains– The nature of the Mains exam is very different from that of the Prelims. For answering the questions of mains one must have a deeper understanding of the subject. For preparing the GS Paper -2 for the UPSC Exam M Laxmikant is essential but not sufficient. The book is basically factual in nature and does not deal with some of the important concepts. Moreover, GS Paper 2 also includes dynamic topics such as Governance and International Relations which are not covered in the M Laxmikant. It rather focused on the static part of the syllabus.
Aspirants must refer to other sources to complete the syllabus of the GS paper-2. You will read about these sources in the next section of the article. Along with the books, aspirants must use the current affairs to prepare for this section, as according to the latest trend most of the questions asked in the mains exam are based on the current issues. So candidates are recommended to read Current Affairs to supplement their preparation and score well in the exam.
Note– Learn How to read Laxmikant for UPSC Exam, by visiting the linked article.
Note- You can check the strategy for UPSC Mains GS 2 here
- GS-II Strategy – Recommended Video
- Focus Areas in GS 2 Paper
- How to approach Mains General Studies Paper 2
Sources to Prepare for UPSC Mains GS Paper-2
To prepare for GS Paper 2 one should not restrict to one source. But also do not waste your time reading all the books cover to cover. Go through the syllabus and focus on the topic. One can use the help of the internet to understand the topics better. Following are the main sources that you can refer to prepare for GS-2:
Basic Books-
- Polity-
- NCERT Class XI – Political Science: Indian Constitution at Work (New)
- NCERT Class XII – Political Science I: Contemporary World Politics(New)
- NCERT Class XII – Political Science II: Politics in India since Independence(New)
Advanced Books-
- Polity-
- Indian Polity for Civil Services Examinations – M. Laxmikanth
- Introduction to the Constitution of India – DD Basu
- Important Acts that Transformed India Alex Andrews George
- Governance-
- Ethics in Governance – ARC Report
- Governance in India – M. Laxmikanth
- From Government to Governance – Kuldeep Mathur
- International Relations-
- International Relations: Pushpesh Pant
- Pax Indica by Shashi Tharoor- Voluntary
- India’s Foreign Policy: Coping with the Changing World by Muchkund Dubey
Other Sources–
- Newspaper- The Hindu, Indian Express
- Websites: PIB and PRS
- Magazines: Yojana, Kurukshetra
It is important to know that reading alone from the sources will not be sufficient. Practice the answer writing and work on the time management. You can practice writing answers by answering previous years’ questions or taking mock tests.
We hope the article was helpful to dispel your doubts. Visit the website for more such articles.
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