Amnesty

noun (countable and uncountable)

/ˈæmnɪsti/

An act of sovereign grace by which a government extends pardon to a group of persons—typically for political offences—erasing criminal liability as though the offence had never occurred. In India, the President's power under Article 72 and the Governor's under Article 161 can encompass general pardons, though a formal blanket amnesty requires legislative backing; distinct from a pardon in that it applies collectively and erases the offence prospectively.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

The Union government's amnesty scheme for taxpayers with undisclosed foreign assets offered immunity from prosecution in exchange for voluntary disclosure under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) Act, 2015.

Synonyms

pardonclemencyabsolutionreprieveremissionindemnity

Antonyms

prosecutionpunishmentconvictionpenalty

🌱 Word Family

amnesiac (noun/adjective), amnesia (noun), amnesic (adjective), amnestied (verb past tense)

🔡 Root

Greek amnēstia (forgetfulness) ← a- (not) + mnasthai (to remember) ← mnēmē (memory)

📜 Etymology

Directly from Greek amnēstia, via Latin amnestia. The Greek root links to mnēmōn (mindful), forming the compound 'not-remembering'. First used in English in the 17th century to describe acts of state oblivion for political crimes.

🧠 Memory Hook

AMNESTY shares its root with AMNESIA: the state forgets — or pretends to forget — the crime. Both words mean 'no memory': amnesia for the mind, amnesty for the law.

⚖️ Polity & Constitution 📖 Seen in: Preamble of the Indian Constitution

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