BharatNotes Ombudsman
nounUsage in a UPSC answer
The institution of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas, India's answer to the Scandinavian ombudsman, was envisaged as an independent grievance-redressal mechanism that could insulate citizens from bureaucratic high-handedness without recourse to protracted litigation.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
ombudsman (n.), ombudsmen (n. pl.), ombudswoman (n.), ombudsperson (n.), ombudsman's (possessive)
Root
Swedish ombudsman = commissioner, agent; Old Norse umboðsmaðr: umboð = commission + maðr = man
Etymology
From Swedish ombudsman ("commissioner, agent"), from Old Norse umboðsmaðr, from umboð ("commission, delegation") + maðr ("man").
Memory Hook
Read it as "OM-buds-man" — the friendly "buddy" (buds) man you turn to when officialdom wrongs you; he is your appointed buddy against bureaucracy.
How This Word Works in UPSC Writing
An independent officer who investigates citizens' complaints against public authorities. The Indian institution is the Lokpal at the Union level and Lokayuktas in the States under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, and its design is worth stating precisely: a chairperson and up to eight members with at least half judicial, chosen by a committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition, the Chief Justice or a judge nominated by the Chief Justice, and an eminent jurist nominated by the President; with jurisdiction extending to the Prime Minister, subject to exclusions for international relations, security, public order, atomic energy and space, and to Ministers, Members of Parliament and public servants across all groups. The gap between design and operation is the examinable content, since the Act took five years to yield the first appointment in 2019, and the office then lay vacant for close to two years after that incumbent retired in 2022, which shows that an institution's independence depends first on the executive's willingness to constitute it at all.
Don’t Confuse It With
An ombudsman investigates complaints against public authorities independently of them. The Lokpal operates at the Union level and Lokayuktas in the States, the Act requiring States to establish the latter. The Central Vigilance Commission supervises vigilance administration and is a separate institution with a narrower remit. A whistleblower reports wrongdoing and is protected by separate legislation, so the term describes a source rather than an investigating authority.
Hindi Meaning
लोकपाल (lokpāl); लोकायुक्त (lokāyukt) for the State institution.
Common Questions
- Who selects the Lokpal?
- A committee of the Prime Minister, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Leader of the Opposition, the Chief Justice or a judge nominated by the Chief Justice, and an eminent jurist nominated by the President.
- Why is the Lokpal's record criticised?
- The Act of 2013 produced no appointment until 2019, and the office then lay vacant for nearly two years from 2022, so the institution's effectiveness has depended on the executive's willingness to constitute it.
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