Dynasties in politics keep our country backward

In the year 1775, US Congress commissioned George Washington to take command of Continental Army to fight and drive out British forces. After a conclusive victory in 1783, Washington presented himself before the Congress and resigned his commission. He left Annapolis, the capital, and went to Mount Vernon, his home with the resolve to lead a quiet life. But call of duty again brought him back to the public life and he was elected the first President of the United States. After completing his first four year term, he wanted to relinquish office but had to accept the second term upon great persuasion by Thomas Jefferson. In 1796, again he was requested to accept one more term in the office, but this time he firmly declined, setting a precedent for the future. On March 21, 1947, Congress passed the 22nd amendment to the US Constitution that prohibited any person holding the office of US President for more than two terms.

Closer home, we have a shining example in Mahatma Gandhi, who wanted the Congress party dissolved after Independence. His contention was that the party was set up with the sole objective to fight for the independence of the country and once this objective was achieved, there was no logic to keep the party alive. Had Gandhiji's counsel been accepted, a shining example would have been set of selfless public service, and probably our post-independence history would have been different.

We are all proud to be the largest democracy in the world. Many Asian and African nations that got independence around the same time or a little later than us, have sunk into dictatorships or even lawlessness, running the risk of even failing as States. We have had regular elections and smooth transfer of power from one party to another -- no mean achievement. We can legitimately take pride in the fact that India was the first country in the world to have elected a communist government democratically. This landmark event happened when EMS Namboodiripad took oath of office on April 5, 1957 as Chief Minister of Kerala state.

But today, after more than six decades of independence, our nation stands at the crossroads. We face a great danger from what they call dynastic politics. Many leading political scientists are of the opinion that we are no longer a true democracy but have been reduced to what is termed as Dynastocracy. Our politicians are so addicted to the perks and power of office that once they get it, they want to hold on to it till their last breath. Not only this, they want to pass on elected offices to their chosen heirs, as if they are some kind of hereditary royals.

Fountainhead of this trend is Nehru-Gandhi dynasty in Delhi but this disease has spread like contagion to all the states of the Union. Each state has one or two families that run or control state governments. As per the reliable data, in our last Parliament all the MPs of Congress below 35 years of age were the ones whose father or some other person in the family were also MPs. In case of the other political parties, 100% MPs below 30 years of age come from a political lineage. 

Greatest danger of dynastic politics is that a country under this yoke remains backward and poor. It is obviously in the interests of dynasts to keep the population backward, superstitious and ignorant. For an enlightened population would question this feudal system. No wonder that we have almost 300 million people in the country who cannot read and write even today and we are home to four out of every 10 illiterates in the world. 

The author is a teacher and corporate trainer