American Novelist, Toni Morrison had once said, “Everybody gets everything handed to them. The rich inherit it. I don’t mean just inheritance of money. I mean what people take for granted among the middle and upper classes, which is nepotism, the old-boy network.”
Nepotism can fairly be described as an act of using power or influence to get unfair advantages for members of one’s family, or for someone acquainted. This is prevalent almost everywhere in the society. It exists all over the world, but in India it is found to be a bit too much. No matter how qualified and eligible a person is, if they do not have a link to anyone influential, they will lose out on an opportunity. It is a pity that someone talented and hard-working tries to fit in and be ‘self-made’ but lag behind only because he/she does not possess the stature of being connected to someone of a high rank or someone influential and well-established in the society.
This system leaves such people demotivated leading to an increase risk of mental issues such as depression, trauma and even unwanted thoughts. In Meghalaya, the subject of nepotism isn’t something new. This kind of favoritism and biasness has been in existence for a long time in our State as well and in every government department, most commonly known as “backdoor entry”.
Let us take for instance the infamous case of the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL). Just few weeks ago, I came across an article about the existence of favoritism or nepotism in the MeECL where a junior engineer was found to have been deemed with special powers ever more than that of the Chief Engineer and also has been appointed as the nodal officer for implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). This has irked the many other employees of the Corporation who have the knowledge that all such duties and responsibilities had been only of the Chief Engineer and his team. The MeECL is not the only department with such malpractices but many other government departments in our State practice this culture of nepotism.
Out of the many, one such is the Meghalaya Public Service Commission or MPSC. This office has been one of the most common subjective example of the existence of nepotism and people have time and again spoken out of the prevalence of this act. There have been thousands of candidates who have applied for various positions vacant against the advertisements furnished in the MPSC, but unfortunately many of them are unable to qualify. They are given many reasons for not being qualified enough. But to what extent are those reasons true?
Apropos an article ‘Perplexing MCS result’, ST, 1st May 2021, the author had clearly stated the probability of nepotism and had hoped that it had not been the case with a certain candidate having cleared the MCS exam and candidates appearing at the bottom of the list of the LDA exams, surprisingly grasped high ranks in the recently declared MCS result. This brings about many questions as to where is this transparency? Are the MCS exams really conducted in a fair manner? However, the MPSC isn’t the only department where such acts of favoritism take place.
There are many other government departments within our State where this is prevalent till date and it destroys the many aspiring and hard-working candidates who know they have the capability in them but are unable to grab a spot only because they are not well connected or well established. I feel now is a time for everybody to speak up against these whimsical acts so the many aspiring, hard-working, talented and deserving ones do not suffer.
