Author
Rohit Bopche
Founder of Mock Test Mitra. Writes the essays on this blog, from Ethics through Stories to Engineering case files and The question behind the formula, for aspirants who would rather check an argument than trust it.
Essays
- Why are India and Bhutan so close? (India and the world)
- How did India and Bangladesh settle their border in 2015? (Maps of power)
- Is India a federation or a 'Union of States'? (Cases that made the Constitution)
- What holds India and Russia together? (India and the world)
- Who makes India's foreign policy? (PSIR, from the record)
- Why are the Directive Principles not enforceable in court, and do they matter? (Cases that made the Constitution)
- What did Gandhi mean by trusteeship? (Gandhi)
- What does the 1950 treaty still decide between India and Nepal? (India and the world)
- Was non-alignment neutrality? (PSIR, from the record)
- What did the 73rd Amendment make every state do? (PSIR, from the record)
- What are the four foundational agreements between India and the US? (India and the world)
- Why do government buildings so often fall short on quality? (Tested against the record)
- How should you read a chapter-wise mock test result? (Study craft)
- What did the Simla Agreement commit India and Pakistan to? (India and the world)
- What is the state for? (PSIR, from the record)
- Why is it so hard for India to get a permanent seat on the Security Council? (PSIR, from the record)
- Is it better for a ruler to be feared than loved? (Machiavelli)
- Why do states go to war, according to realists and idealists? (PSIR, from the record)
- Does India copy more than it invents? (Tested against the record)
- Where should the state's power over you stop? (Mill)
- What does the Ganga Water Treaty with Bangladesh do, and what happens when it ends? (Maps of power)
- What makes a government legitimate, according to Locke? (Locke)
- Should you guess when there is negative marking? (Exam rules, decoded)
- Why would anyone give up their freedom to a Leviathan? (Hobbes)
- Why has India never signed the NPT? (PSIR, from the record)
- Why did Chandrayaan-3 take 40 days to land on the Moon, when Apollo 11 took four? (The question behind the formula)
- Did resonance really bring down the Tacoma Narrows Bridge? (Engineering case files)
- What can an officer do when the order is wrong? (Antigone)
- Was Newton a good officer, or just a stubborn one? (Newton, 2017)
- Was Leonidas right about Ephialtes? (300)
How the essays are written
- Every factual claim has a named source, listed at the end of the essay.
- Opinion is kept to the verdict, and marked as such. Everything else should be checkable.
- Maps of India use India's official boundaries.
Corrections and contact
Spotted an error? Write to mocktestmitra@gmail.com. Corrections are made on the page and noted with the date. Rohit is also Mock Test Mitra's Grievance Officer.