“Man was born free and he is everywhere in chains.”
Rousseau
India is a passionate country. Be it Cricket, festivals, or movies, Indians invest themselves quite emotionally. One such event was the death of a terrific actor, Sushanth Singh.
Social media was filled with memes, posts, and videos of how nepotism killed Sushanth. This article is not another rant, but an attempt to understand the different dimensions of nepotism — the roots, kinds, and effects.
Nepotism has been around for centuries now. The term originated from the fact that Catholic Popes appointed relatives, particularly nephews (since they weren’t allowed to have children) as cardinals. Nepos translates to nephews. And it is not limited to Bollywood.
Entitlement Nepotism
This form of nepotism is what exactly has triggered the masses in the recent days. It was not the issue of star kids getting good roles, but the issue of them getting meaty roles based solely on their family ties with exceptional talents being ignored.
It is self-evident in various spheres of society like entertainment, politics, business, universities, and judicial courts. It is amusing that people have expressed such an outrage against the film industry (where they don’t stand to gain/lose much) while ignoring the rampant entitlement nepotism in the Indian judiciary.
The general public isn’t free of nepotism either. The Indian caste hegemony is nepotism.
Reciprocal Nepotism
Skills required for a few industries need specific environments and the right kind of people to interact with, i.e., tacit knowledge. Niche professions like making wine or exotic recipes need nepotism without which competitive advantage may vanish.
Effects
In an already stratified society, nepotism has created barriers for people to be appointed to important positions. It results in greater social inequality and prevents a lot of people from reaching their full potential.
For individuals, it may be demotivating and may play a factor in losing self-esteem and consequently result in depression or suicide. At a societal level, nepotism may lead to alienation and marginalization.
Though it may be justified in a few family businesses, the overall impact of nepotism is hugely negative on the progress of society. It is elitism at best and corruption at worst. We need more than Twitter outrage to break out from the chains of nepotism.
