Dichotomy of democracy: When dynasts call themselves democrats and still no one calls them out

Fourteen 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. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on that occasion, launched a blistering attack on the Congress-led Opposition for boycotting the celebrations and called it an insult to Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Constitution. Attacking the country’s “political dynasts”, Prime Minister Modi said that 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, he said. 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 a little apology or embarrassment. In the last 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. The Gandhi-Nehru family has emerged as the most powerful political dynasty in post-Independence India. The journey began with Motilal Nehru, who ensured his son Jawaharlal Nehru became the Congress president and Gandhi’s most trusted aide. By doing this, not only he managed to place the future of independent India into the grasp of his family, he even cornered the more deserving, capable and dedicated leaders like Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Gandhi never wanted any role for the Congress as a political party, post-Independence. But the party continued to exist and Pandit Nehru turned the party into his fiefdom. Furthermore, giving institutional legitimacy to this vassalage, he made his only child, Indira Gandhi, the Congress president in 1958. Under Indira Gandhi’s tenure as prime minister, this dynastic idea further crystallised. Today Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are vying for the prime ministerial position just because they share Gandhi surnames. The Congress, however, is not the only dynastic party in India. Today, there are many regional parties controlled and run by a particular family. From Jammu and Kashmir to Tamil Nadu, these family-run parties rule the roost. The list is very long and covers a large part of the political map of India. From the Yadavs in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to the Abdullahs and Muftis in Kashmir to Karunanidhis in Tamil Nadu, everyone took a cue from the Gandhis and made politics a family business. Dynastic politics is endangering the concept of democratic socialism assured by the Constitution and it simultaneously aggravates corruption and authoritarianism in the political system. The socialism of the successors of Ram Manohar Lohia, who gave the slogan of non-Congressism and non-dynastism, is 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 authoritarianism are prevailing under the covers of democracy. The democracy of these parties is the modern version of feudalism. In these parties, family-specific sycophancy and idolism are the only ladder to success. 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 is predetermined in the family drawing room of the dynasts. Although there is much noise about words like public, democracy, constitution in their party meets, in reality, it’s just a farce. Debate and dialogue are the essences of democracy. 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. These dynastic political parties are “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 no interest in public welfare or nation-building. Though Congress and the Nehru-Gandhi family are torchbearers of dynastic rule post-Independence, we as common citizens are no less guilty either. Lack of interest from the citizens in identifying and exposing the dynasties led to their flourishment. The result is that today almost all regional parties follow dynastic rules, mainstreamed by the largest party of India — the Congress. The presence of independent, dynamic and competent leadership is an essential precondition for the growth of democracy, which is absent in a dynastic political milieu today. It is necessary to free Indian democracy from the clutches of dynastic politics. An educated civil society should try shattering these delusions by pushing forward the real character of democracy. People from all walks of life should get equal opportunities to demonstrate their potential in making this nation great. The author is Dean, Students’ Welfare, Central University of Jammu.​ Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.