You are heading the rescue operations in an area affected by severe natural calamity. Thousands of people are rendered homeless and deprived of food, drinking water and other basic amenities. Rescue work has been disrupted by heavy rainfall and damage to supply routes. The local people are seething with anger against the delayed limited rescue operations. When your team reaches the affected area, the people there heckle and even assault some of the team members. One of your team members is even severely injured. Faced with this crisis, some team members plead with you to call off the operations fearing threats to their life. In such trying circumstances, what will be your response? Examine the qualities of a public servant which will be required to manage the situation.

Model answer

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Ghissu Editorial · Verified 4 Oct 2026 · 304 words

Q1.

You are heading the rescue operations in an area affected by severe natural calamity. Thousands of people are rendered homeless and deprived of food, drinking water and other basic amenities. Rescue work has been disrupted by heavy rainfall and damage to supply routes. The local people are seething with anger against the delayed limited rescue operations. When your team reaches the affected area, the people there heckle and even assault some of the team members. One of your team members is even severely injured. Faced with this crisis, some team members plead with you to call off the operations fearing threats to their life. In such trying circumstances, what will be your response? Examine the qualities of a public servant which will be required to manage the situation.20

Introduction

This case tests leadership when anger, fear and duty collide. The core dilemma is between Duty of Care towards my team and the Duty to Rescue citizens whose anger springs from real deprivation.

My Response to the Situation

I would stay calm and read the crowd's fury as a cry for help. Calling off the operation would be Moral Escapism; forcing a frightened team on would ignore their safety.

Team Safety vs Duty to Rescue. Venn diagram: Team Safety, Duty to Rescue; overlap: Secured, continued rescue

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Secure the injured

Evacuate the injured member, regroup the team at a safe point and seek police cover.

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Dialogue with the crowd

Acknowledge their suffering, explain the washed-out routes and commit to a timeline, using sarpanches and teachers as intermediaries.

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Anger into participation

Enlist local youth in search and distribution, as Kerala's fishermen led rescue in the 2018 floods [current event].

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Supplies and morale

Request NDRF, air-drops and army engineers under clear incident command, and lead from the front, as Kannan Gopinathan [officer] did in Kerala's relief camps in 2018.

Qualities of a Public Servant Required to Manage the Situation

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Courage and fortitude

Staying on in a hostile zone, the resolve behind Odisha's mass evacuation before Cyclone Fani in 2019 [current event].

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Empathy

Treating victims as citizens, not a law-and-order problem.

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Emotional Intelligence

Equanimity that stops retaliation and calms a panicking team.

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Leadership and accountability

Owning both team safety and relief delays, so responsibility does not diffuse.

Conclusion

Calling off the rescue would protect the team for a day but cost the people's trust for years. Securing the team while keeping relief moving turns a hostile crowd into partners.

This model answer is indicative and the model can make mistakes; please verify key facts independently.

Question from the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) Examination 2019 paper. Answer written by Ghissu's engine and checked against our editorial standards. Found an error? Tell us and we correct it within 48 hours.