Opinion A Vadra star rises
A new star rose in the glittering firmament of Indias feudal democracy last week
A new star rose in the glittering firmament of Indias feudal democracy last week. Robert Vadra. Smiling confidently he told television reporters in Amethi that he would enter politics if this is what the people want. I am here for the family. Politics is the family business in a way. It is now Rahuls time,then Priyankas time will come and later other members of the family will come. Two baby Vadras appeared on a political platform,along side Mummy Priyanka at about the time their Daddy was making his political intentions clear,so this was seen as cause for serious political analysis. A sign that another generation of Gandhis (Gandhi-Vadras?) was being prepared for public life. It became the subject of debate on national television with fond comparisons invoked of an earlier time when little Rahul and Priyanka accompanied their Daddy on political tours.
Well,why not. Why should Mr Vadra and his children not believe that they are entitled to a share in the family business. They are not the only ones to believe in entitlement as a ticket to political power. Feudal democracy is the most popular political ideology in India today. The Leftists have been beaten and relegated to the sidelines. Hindutva lies in the garbage bin of history along with other dead ideologies but feudal democracy blooms and grows across the land. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari,it can be said,that nearly all our major political parties are in fact private companies. A casual examination of the ongoing state elections reveals that tickets were distributed on mostly feudal grounds. In Punjab,the contest is between the Badal and the Patiala family. In Uttar Pradesh,it has almost become a battle between two princes. And,in municipal elections in Mumbai,seats reserved for women have nearly all been given to wives,sisters and mothers.
If you believe that feudal democracy is an ideology popular only at the top,you are wrong. It is an idea that has so caught the imagination of politicians in rural India that you can find baby political dynasties even in small villages. It is not just real politicians who have learned how to convert electoral constituencies into private estates,it is a political idea that has been embraced by criminals of all kind. This is possibly because there is more money in politics these days than in crime. And,incidentally,those who want to continue to preserve their stakes in the criminal world benefit hugely from political life because the police has to protect them once they become public servants.
Feudal democracy works well for political families and badly for the country. So India has failed to improve in areas that are vital to our dream of becoming a developed country by the middle of this century. We have infant mortality rates worse than the poorest countries in Africa. We have sanitation standards so horrific that most villages and urban slums should be declared unfit for human habitation. On account of dirty water and filthy living conditions,most deaths of children under the age of five are due to diarrhea. Those who survive live without two square meals a day so half of Indian children are clinically malnourished.
There are other problems. Our political leaders rely so deeply on their family name that they cannot be bothered with doing real work. So they have failed to invest in our most fundamental infrastructure needs. When reporters covering the elections in Uttar Pradesh stop to chat to villagers,they find that they continue to harp on that old unfulfilled demand for bijli,pani,sadak as their reason for not voting for someone.
Why should we blame only our politicians when it is clear that the average Indian voter approves of feudal democracy if it is practiced by political leaders they consider charismatic. Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi are adored not just by ordinary people but by the media. And,the people of Bihar had no problem accepting Lalu Yadavs semi-literate wife,Rabri Devi,as their chief minister until her family started behaving very badly.
So why should Robert Vadra not go ahead and take his shot at serving the people of India? From the research I did for this piece,I discovered that he has such incredible business skills that in the fifteen years he has been married to Indias favourite princess,he has become a very rich man. His interests range from handicrafts and hospitality to IT Parks and real estate. Some of his ventures have the backing of the famous DLF group. Someone who can do so well in business in such a short time will undoubtedly make an excellent CEO of the private company that he inherits from his wifes side of the family. It is called the Congress Party and it invented feudal democracy.
Follow Tavleen Singh on Twitter @ Tavleen_Singh
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