Senior parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor has stated only the obvious – that dynastic political culture is a serious “threat” to democracy. Dynastic politics, he noted in a syndicated article, “prevails across a broad political spectrum; and it’s high time the nation replaced dynasty with meritocracy.” His take is also that this would require fundamental reforms, from imposing legally mandated time-limits (for those holding positions in party and government), and an effort to educate and empower the electorate to choose leaders based on merit. A problem is, those like Prime Minister Narendra Modi rarely showed an inclination or ability to reform the system, which is an urgent need of the hour. His baptism in the RSS makes him a status-quo-ist.
Clearly, what should matter in governance is leaders with merit. This merit, though, is a relative term. Good governance involves a synergy of talent, vision, education, a commitment to national causes and above all the courage to face situations squarely. Ideally, the one who leads the nation, or state, from the top should be having a clean image. However, it is hard to zero in on a leader who combines all these qualities in him or her. Democracy is incapable of throwing up the right kind of leaders. What is widely seen here is a phenomenon of loud-mouths fooling the ordinary masses – who form the bulk of the population – through their verbal acrobatics and winning elections. Voters are generally guided also by their sectarian interests based on caste, creed and even religion. These are sadly parts of electoral arithmetic.
Tharoor with his wide global exposure and parliamentary experience stated what’s desirable. Only an enlightened electorate can think and act in a manner that would help elect leaders with the right qualifications. Those who are qualified are often sidelined as they may not necessarily be having the gift of the gab to carry a crowd with them. A run-of-the-mill, hand-in-the honeypot politician could do this wooing of the public in a more successful manner. Most politicians of today are mediocre but they make this up with street-smartness and muscle-power. Jawaharlal Nehru had the vision to transform India in modern ways. The present crop of politicians, many of whom are dynasts, lack the good qualities of a leader, but such crooks have in their blood the ability for manipulations to turn situations to their personal advantage. They woo the people with promises of doles, kits and freebies; and loot the exchequer after forming governments. Meritocracy is the ideal scenario, but dynasties are thriving with able backing from the media. Manipulators in politics know how to make everyone happy. In the end, such leaders and their families laugh their way into billionaire status, siphoning off their ill-gotten money to tax havens on foreign shores. They are a dime a dozen, and they are helping make the bureaucrats too more corrupt. Tharoor is no dynast, but his realization came only after his chances dimmed in the Congress party. Compared to the greedy lot, the Nehru family is a shade better, and still carries with them some conviction.
