CURRENT AFFAIRS | MARCH 2026
• Ethics in governance — political executive vs permanent executive
• Aristotle’s Doctrine of Mean (Nicomachean Ethics) — virtue as the middle path
• Plato’s Republic — Form of Good and right understanding
• Emotional intelligence in public administration
• Indian philosophy of dharma in public life
The Haryana Incident — What Happened?
Haryana Energy Minister Anil Vij publicly confronted Kaithal SP Upasna during a grievance redressal session. He directed the SP to suspend an ASI and told her to “get up from the meeting if you have no power.” The SP maintained her composure despite visible hurt — raising fundamental questions about the relationship between political and permanent executives.
– Political Executive (Minister) — derives authority from people’s mandate through elections
– Permanent Executive (Civil Servant) — derives legitimacy from service rules, law, and constitutional provisions
– Both serve the public; their interaction must reflect dignity and institutional respect
Aristotle’s Doctrine of Mean
Ethics columnist Nanditesh Nilay (ethicist, author of Being Good and Ethikos, PhD from ICSSR + IIT Delhi) analysed the incident through Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics.
- Doctrine of Mean — virtue lies between two extremes: excess (excessive anger, ego display) and deficiency (complete passivity, silence)
- The “mean” was missing in the Vij-Upasna incident — neither proportionate authority nor dignified restraint was demonstrated by the minister
- Courage lies between recklessness and cowardice; temperance between indulgence and insensibility
M — Middle path between extremes
E — Every virtue has two vices (excess + deficiency)
A — Action must be proportionate to situation
N — Nicomachean Ethics is the source text
Philosophical Foundations — Plato & Indian Thought
Plato’s Republic offers the analogy of the Form of Good — just as the sun enables sight, goodness enables right understanding in governance. Without ethical grounding, power becomes arbitrary.
In Indian philosophy, dharma (right conduct) is central to public life. A minister’s authority does not exempt them from the duty of civil discourse.
Emotional Intelligence as Administrative Virtue
Nilay contrasted the incident with the Suryakumar Yadav–Kuldeep Yadav cricket episode — where on-field tension was dissolved by a gentle smile and spontaneous hug instead of a reprimand. This demonstrates how emotional intelligence can defuse conflict while preserving authority.
• Was the ego display necessary for governance?
• How should a civil servant respond when authority clashes with etiquette?
• Does holding power justify abandoning civility?
• Can grace in communication coexist with firm decision-making?
• Aristotle’s Doctrine of Mean is a frequent topic in ethics-based GK questions
• Political vs permanent executive distinction is core Polity knowledge
• CLAT passages often test ethical reasoning in governance scenarios
• Plato’s Republic and Indian dharma concepts appear in legal reasoning sections
Source: UPSC Essentials, The Indian Express — March 2026
Practice Quiz
Test your understanding with these 10 MCQs:
Practice Quiz — 10 CLAT-Style Questions
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