Prof. Rasal Singh
Amidst 14 Opposition parties, including Congress, Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena, NCP, DMK, RJD,SP, BSP and Left, boycotted the ‘Constitution Day’ programme at the Central Hall of Parliament, accusing the government of defying the constitution and destroying democracy, the Prime Minister on the occasion launched a blistering attack on this Congress led opposition parties for boycotting the celebrations and termed it as an insult to Baba Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Constitution and to far-sighted personalities like Gandhi ji, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel and Veer Savarkar who made sacrifices during the freedom struggle. He emphasized, “that spirit and every section of the Constitution is hurt” when political parties shed their democratic character. He further hit out at political dynasts, and said parties controlled by the same family for generations posed a threat to a healthy democracy. As these parties do not have internal democracy and in turn are not capable of protecting democracy.
India’s political system is replete with cases of power being viewed as a cherished family heirloom to be dusted off, polished and handed down to sons, daughters, spouses and grandchildren with little apology or embarrassment. For almost 70 years, rather than being a democracy, we’ve become an oligarchy where a political caste took charge and then kept everybody else out of the process. This trend toward dynasties goes right to the very top of the country’s politics. The Gandhi-Nehru family, emerged as the most powerful political dynasty in post-Independence India. The journey began when Pandit Motilal Nehru connivingly made his son Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the Congress party President, Gandhiji’s most trusted aide, and his successor with utmost prudence. By doing this, not only he managed to place the future of independent India in the grabs of his family, he even conveniently overtook the more deserving, capable and dedicated leaders, like Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Gandhiji never wanted any role for the Congress as a political party, post-independence. However, this was not the case, rather Congress grabbed the legacy of freedom struggle and Pandit Nehru made Congress his fiefdom. Furthermore, giving institutional legitimacy to this vassalage, he not only made his only child, Indira Gandhi, the Congress President in 1958. Thereafter, Congress journey with Indira Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi is well known. Next in the pipeline, Priyanka Gandhi is ready to take the baton from her still unmarried brother Rahul Gandhi. While in the wings, her own son Rehan Gandhi Vadra is also being groomed to take over the helm of the party in the near future.
While the Nehru-Gandhi family may be the most prominent of the nation’s political dynasties, but the Congress is not solely the paragon. Today, in India there are many regional parties controlled and run by a particular family. From Jammu and Kashmir to Tamil Nadu, these family run parties have a pan-India presence. It can be cited from every part of the nation – the Mulayam Singh-Yadav family (SP) in Uttar Pradesh; Karunanidhi family (DMK) in Tamil Nadu; Abdullah and Mufti Family in Jammu and Kashmir; in Bihar, Ram Vilas Paswan’s family (LJP) and Lalu Prasad Yadav’s family (RJD), in Karnataka, HD Deve Gowda’s family (JDS), Thackrey’ s family (Shiv Sena) and Sharad Pawar’ s family (NCP). The other political dynasties which populate the Indian electoral scene post-Independence are – the Badals in Punjab, and Patnaiks in Orrisa, Telangana Rashtra Samithi in Telangana, and YSR Congress in AP. Smaller parties like Apna Dal, Lok Janshakti Party, AIMIM etc are also included. This list is very long and covers a large part of the political map of India. From the Yadavs to the Abdullahs and Karunanidhis, everyone took a cue from the Gandhis and made politics a family business. Rashtriya Janata Dal and Samajwadi Party have also set unprecedented records of pauperism. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and BSP supremo Mayawati have also taken steps to hand over the reins of their party to their respective nephews. In South, meanwhile, the Marans constantly have to divide the spoils equitably between a large network of children, step-children, nephews and nieces. Only the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Communist parties, JD(U) and the budding Aam Aadmi Party are still surviving from this pan india trend of family fiefdoms. The two Prime Ministers which BJP gave to India, namely, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi, were by a mile the tallest politicians of their generation. Today, this can happen in merit-based parties, not in dynastic parties.
If there is no wrong for a doctor parent to aspire his children to follow his footsteps taking up the medicine as his profession in future, a business man’s child to take forward his business legacy to the next level, an Army man’s son to add another sacrifice to the sovereignty of India, legal profession, which continues to be a bastion of a few privileged and powerful families, then why not political leaders may see their children as flag bearers of their political legacy? Because running a nation is not merely a profession, it demands much more. There has to be a true competent candidate to shoulder the gravity of responsibility of governing a country like India. How could one be conferred with unbridled power and unaccountable wealth just because of one’s pre-destined birth in a particular family?
Dynastic politics is endangering the concept of democratic socialism assured by the Constitution and it simultaneously aggravates corruption and fascism in the Indian political system. The socialism of the successors of Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, who gave the slogan of non-Congressism and non-dynastism, is also no different from the Congress. All the regional parties that have emerged from the socialist and Sampurn Kranti movement are either private fiefs of a particular family or themselves operate as private companies. In either case, high-handedness and dictatorship are prevailing under the covers of democracy. The democracy of these parties is the modern version of feudalism. There is neither respect or empathy towards the feelings, aspirations or views of the common party worker. A lot of supporters accept subjugation because of the ability of the dynasty to put them in positions of power and status. In these parties, family-specific sycophancy and idolism are the only ladder to success. Political exile for those who cannot follow the family is the dark reality. Ultimately, in dynastic parties one has to accept political slavery.
Furthermore, in these parties, the election of the president, the national convention, the executive meeting, etc., are all staged dramas meant to mislead the gullible public. Everything has been predetermined and pre decided in the family drawing room of the dynasts. Although, there is much noise about words like public, democracy, constitution, in all their party meets and discussion but, in reality it’s just a farce. The use of idiom ‘a honey tongue, a heart of gall’ is most appropriate to explain the situation. There are multiple possible reasons for this failure of dynastic politics. By definition, the politics of patronage entails inefficient use of state resources to reward clients. Besides, deterioration of political ability is inevitable.
Debate and dialogue are the basic essence of democracy. Democracy stems and matures from them. However, the present political scenario does not offer any room for dissent and criticism. The discussion space is constantly shrinking. Shrinking of this space is equivalent to suffocating democracy in general. Although, most political parties are engaged in the act of throttling democracy, but the dynastic parties are the torch bearers in this arena.
These dynastic political parties are ‘Party run by the family, for the family, and by the family’. This unique feature of dynastic parties mocks the sheer definition of democracy given by Abraham Lincoln. These parties have no commitment to the Constitution, constitutional institutions and obligations. They have absolutely no interest in public welfare or nation-building. All this is deceit, and its mere veil of power-acquisition and selfishness. The domination of a particular family for years and from generation to generation over a political party is similar to what existed during the Mughal empire. Though, Congress and the Nehru-Gandhi family are responsible for dynastic rule post-independence, but we as common man are not less guilty for the same. Lack of interest from the citizens in identifying and exposing the dynasties who flaunted democracy, led to their flourishment. The result is that today almost all the regional parties follow dynastic rules, propagated by the largest party of the country. This trend is getting worse and is spreading rampantly across the length and breadth of our country which is evident from the representation we currently have in our Parliament, assemblies and in village panchayats. It is natural for the parties to trample on the voice and sentiment of the people in such a situation. This is prohibiting entry of new ideas, new energy and new faces.
Thus, the regular emergence of independent, dynamic and competent leadership is an essential condition for the growth of democracy, which is absent in a dynastic political environment. It is necessary to free Indian democracy from the clutches of dynastic politics. An educated civil society and well aware public should break these delusions by understanding the real purpose of democracy and mobilizing masses against it. It now depends on the people of India. We need to stoke our disenchantment, our disillusionment. We need to voice how we feel. Coming out of the Nuckles of Nepotism, is when democracy will actually flourish, and the concept of welfare state can sustain in its truest sense. True democracy would prevail only when people from all walks of life will get equal opportunity to demonstrate their potential in making this nation great and there wouldn’t be any concentration of power and wealth limited to a few. Thereafter, democracy will not merely be a hollow slogan but crucial a factor for social empowerment and national development.
(The author is Dean, Students’ Welfare, Central University of Jammu.)
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