BharatNotes Nepotism
noun (uncountable)Usage in a UPSC answer
The persistence of nepotism in public recruitment corrodes the meritocratic ethos of the civil services, eroding citizens' faith in the impartiality of the state and entrenching dynastic privilege at the expense of equality of opportunity.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
nepotist (n.), nepotistic (adj.), nepotistically (adv.), nepotism (n.)
Root
Latin nepōs = nephew; Italian nepotismo; orig. practice of popes appointing nephews as cardinals
Etymology
From French népotisme, from Italian nepotismo, from Latin nepōs ("nephew"); originally referred to the practice of Renaissance-era popes appointing their nephews as cardinals; first recorded in English in 1669 in a diary entry by Samuel Pepys.
Memory Hook
Latin nepos = 'nephew'; picture a powerful uncle handing his NEPHEW a plum government post he never earned — nepotism is "for the nephew".
How This Word Works in UPSC Writing
Favouring relatives in appointments, benefits or opportunities regardless of merit. Constitutionally it collides directly with Article 16, which guarantees equality of opportunity in matters of public employment, and behind it with Article 14. The safeguards in the services are deliberately procedural rather than dependent on the good character of the appointing officer: recruitment through independent constitutional bodies, namely the Union and State Public Service Commissions, which exist precisely to remove appointment from the hands of those who would benefit from directing it; conduct rules requiring officers to declare interests and recuse themselves from matters involving relatives; and the standing rule that no one may sit in judgement on their own cause. The subtler form worth noting is that nepotism need not involve an appointment at all, since steering contracts, transfers, postings or discretionary benefits toward relatives is the same wrong in a different guise.
Don’t Confuse It With
Nepotism favours relatives, from the Latin nepos, nephew, and the word records the practice of popes appointing nephews as cardinals. Cronyism favours friends and associates instead. Favouritism is the general term covering both. Meritocracy is the principle each of them violates. Dynastic politics is the electoral analogue, though it differs in one respect that matters: voters retain the power to reject a dynastic candidate, whereas a nepotistic appointment faces no comparable check.
Hindi Meaning
भाई-भतीजावाद (bhāī-bhatījāvād), literally brother-and-nephew-ism, which mirrors the Latin root exactly.
Common Questions
- Why is nepotism a constitutional problem?
- Because Article 16 guarantees equality of opportunity in matters of public employment, and favouring relatives denies other candidates that equal opportunity.
- Is nepotism only about appointments?
- No. Directing contracts, transfers, postings or discretionary benefits towards relatives is the same wrong, even where no appointment is involved.
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