UPSC 2023 Geography · 15 marks · 250 words
Discuss the applicability of central place theory in understanding the urban hierarchy of the Indian Gangetic plain.
What “Discuss” demands
present several distinct facets of the issue and connect them into an argument, giving the competing views real weight rather than one line each.
The characteristic failure: a list of points with no argument running through them.
What a top answer must contain
These are the checkable specifics from the marking standard for this question — the actual case, committee, datum or thinker, not an instruction to “give examples”.
- Christaller's CPT: k=3/4/7 principles, range, threshold — stated precisely and briefly
- Gangetic plain fit: dense uniform agrarian plain approximates the isotropic surface; mandi-town hierarchies
- Misfits: colonial railway towns, riverine alignment, pilgrimage centres (Varanasi, Ayodhya) as distortions
- Empirical anchor: census urban hierarchy of UP-Bihar; primacy absent (contrast Kolkata's macrocephaly historically)
- Post-CPT frames: Losch modification, rank-size checks — a sketch/diagram earns presentation credit
The band thresholds and the pre-scored sample answers behind this standard stay private — they are the calibration your copy is placed against.
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