#TGLife
As we celebrate the 71st Republic Day, there is a lot to be proud of, but there is a lot more to learn and improve. While we can say that our country is now a well established democracy, it must also be conceded that the system has its flaws. One of the major flaws that we have had is politicians creating their ‘family fiefdoms’ over the years, with sons and daughters following their fathers as elected representatives.
While it is easy to blame the politicians for the same, it must be noted that this happens because they get votes. Thus, while we speak about the need to improve the political class, we must also ask what role the Indian voters play in Indian democracy? Do they have a role in consolidating family raj patterns in Indian politics? How can this be changed?
One of the reasons why dynasts manage to get elected is because they have money accumulated over the years in power, and knowledge and influence over the system compared to someone who does not come from a political family. Even so, it turns out that the dynastic face of the Indian polity is slowly changing as the electorate in the country has changed. Young voters are more likely to think beyond the traditional casteist lines and make factors such as employment and education a priority. Secondly, the voters are now making an attempt to evaluate a politician’s performance rather than falling into the old elitist mentality.
Dynasty politics in India
Politics is a highly dynastic profession around the world, and studies suggest that politics the world over is a highly dynastic occupation. Individuals are 110 times more likely to enter into politics if they have a politician father, compared to other elite professions such as medicine and law.
The Congress led the pack in the 2014 Lok Sabha with 48% dynasty MPs, followed by the Biju Janata Dal and the Nationalist Congress Party with 33.3% each. The Shiromani Akali Dal was at 25%, and the BJP and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam had around 15% each.
In a March, a 2019 survey by IndiaSpend, A third of people surveyed recently said they thought politicians actually care what
ordinary people think and 58% said nothing really changes following an election.
A record 30% of the 2019 Lok Sabha MPs belong to political families. Among states, Punjab and Bihar have the highest proportions of dynastic MPs.
Experts say it might take around a 100 years for India to get out of dynasty politics in democracy.
One of the reasons established families continue to flourish is their ability to leverage wealth accumulated across their tenure.
One of the reasons why this happened was because people voted enmass on caste lines. Secondly, one must admit that every political party does have its own fixed voter-base. However, today, many old voting patterns are changing because a major chunk of the country’s voters is young, and they think independently, shunning the traditional cast and community barriers.Education and awareness are the key to getting the country out of dynastic politics, and that is slowly happening now
” Rajesh Prabhu, journalist, Canacona
There are many factors that have led to the rise of political dynasties in India. One of the reasons why dynasties prospered was because people votes along the line of community and cast. We are still a society that places a high value on traditions, and a kind of feudal mindset still persists among our people. That is why, dynasts were able to get elected all these years. That trend is indeed changing, but the change is small and slow, and it will take some time before we could call ourselves a truly mature democracy.
” Swami Kundaikar, lawyer, Ponda
The larger tendency to go by dynastic symbols is gradually diminishing in India because even if there are dynasts, the focus is now on performance. Being a dynast will not always ensure that they will win the elections. But if someone is a dynast and is able to prove himself at a practical level, he has a lot of advantage than someone who does not come from an established political background
” Dr Rahul Tripathi, HoD, Department of
Political Science, Goa University
