Whose dynasty is it?

‘Dynasty’ has been a buzzword in the Indian political circles for a long time. The Gandhis have been at the center of lot of snarl, ridicule and attack for decades now. If you’ve read my earlier blogs, you perhaps know that I, like most of us, condemn dynastical representation at the political arena. Through this column today, I’ll try to understand who is to blame for this rot and if it’s limited only to the Nehru-Gandhi family.

India is an erstwhile colonial state which prior to that had been ruled by ruthless kings. While our ancestors spread the message of love to the world through spiritual discourse, they have for centuries been repeatedly invaded by emperors from various parts of the world. Although we’ve championed the cause of freedom in many ways, we’ve also developed fondness to the idea of being ‘ruled’. We’ve known for long that it was okay to be presided over; it was alright to have the control of our fate in someone else’s hands. We started perceiving it as normal to have someone who shall be more powerful than us to boss us. We decided not to take charge of our life!

Vacuum is a myth. If we don’t rule ourselves, someone else will. That’s what has happened to us. Why blame a particular family when it’s us who gave them the power to exercise it on us? We made them what they are made out to be today. It’s a monster that’s been crafted by us, year after year. Nobody who gets accustomed to infinite privileges shall ever forfeit those. That’s human nature! If we believe we’ve brought down curtains on monarchy and replaced it with democracy, then why do we still have that undying yarning to be ruled by the mighty? Why do the people of Amethi and Rae Bareli, who are as poor a constituency as any other in India, still send the Gandhis to the parliament? Who is it that has times without count likened the Gandhi daughter to Indira and the crown prince to Rajiv? Isn’t that us? Let’s admit we get thrilled by the very thought of a charming young ‘descendant’ of the dynasty who would re-write our fate. That’s really not them, that’s us!

Let’s now broaden our prism. Isn’t politics all over India run as a family enterprise, from the DMK to the SP to the RJD to Shiv Sena to Biju Janata Dal to National Conference? Wasn’t Akhilesh Yadav one of the most ineligible candidates to run Uttar Pradesh after Mulayam decided to step aside? Don’t we know about the grand family feud in the DMK where the old father cannot officially give up the reins because his two sons have been throwing hand grenade at each other? Haven’t we heard how Omar Abdullah was anyway going to take over from Farooq in Jammu & Kashmir? Is Shiv Sena any different when it comes to inheritance of power? Dynasty in our political system has always been a reality. While electoral oblivion of one family in Delhi may be a symbolic ‘win’ of sorts to many, let’s be cognizant of the bigger picture and understand that it will not cure the root cause of the problem. 

I’m for a system that prefers merit to surname. I’m for an institution of polity that thrives on participation and creation of value. To consider the battle as one against a family would be a significant compromise with its true potential. The real fight is against the secret corner of our mind that still romanticizes kings and queens and succumbs to a superficial glory that does not exist. Democracy after all is by the people, for the people and of the people!