Revision summary
I would prioritise integrity, impartiality, objectivity, accountability, and courtesy to the weakest. Integrity is first because a sold desk makes the rest theatre. Impartiality keeps the republic’s file from taking a party colour. Objectivity and a speaking order make fairness inspectable. Courtesy is not a luxury; a sneer at the counter still wounds dignity.
Model answer
Introduction
A code of conduct names many duties. Five must lead the rest, or the book becomes a gift ceiling without a spine. I would give first place to integrity, then impartiality, objectivity, accountability, and courtesy toward the weakest.
Body
The five I would prioritise
- Integrity: no private price for a public act, no kin in the tender, no envelope that buys tomorrow’s note.
- Impartiality and political neutrality: the same licence, the same lathi timing, the same hearing for every procession.
- Objectivity: published criteria, evidence on the file, and recusal when my interest is in the room.
- Accountability: a signed, speaking order that audit, court, and citizen can read.
- Courtesy and compassion at the counter: Conduct Rules already demand civility; without it the poor meet the State as humiliation.
Why this ranking
- Integrity is prior because the other four become theatre if the desk is for sale.
- Impartiality is next because a republic dies when the file has a party colour.
- Objectivity stops a sincere but biased officer from calling his prejudice a duty.
- Accountability makes the first three inspectable; a secret saint is not a public servant.
- Courtesy is fifth not because it is soft, but because a clean and fair office that sneers still wounds dignity, which Article 21 names.
How they sit in Indian codes
- AIS and CCS Conduct Rules already bind gifts, politics, criticism, and courtesy; Nolan’s selflessness and honesty feed the same five.
- Priority is not a licence to ignore the rest of the code: no private trade, no sexual harassment, no leak of a secret.
- When two clash in a live file, integrity and impartiality outrank a cosmetic target or a minister’s impatience.
Practice
- I would write the five on the first page of a sensitive noting, and recuse rather than “manage” a conflict.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD I[Integrity] --> R[Rest of the code] N[Impartiality] --> R O[Objectivity] --> R A[Accountability] --> R C[Courtesy] --> R
Conclusion
- Five principles must lead: integrity, impartiality, objectivity, accountability, and courtesy to the weak. Integrity is first, because a sold desk cannot keep any other promise of the code.
Quick related
Students also ask
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What is Gita's Anasakta Yoga? What message does it provide to civil servants? Explain.
Next question in the 2020 paper (Q13). View answer →
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Why not put compassion first?
Compassion without integrity becomes a favour to a client. Compassion is essential, but it must ride on a clean and impartial desk.
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Does priority mean the other rules can wait?
No. Priority is what I check first in a clash. Sexual harassment, secrecy, and private trade remain fully binding.
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