Dynastic politics in India an off-shoot of Caste System

Hindu religious ideology explains how the four Varnas were founded. According the Rig Veda, the ancient Hindu book, the primal man – Purush – destroyed himself to create a human society. The different Varnas were created from different parts of his body. The Brahmans were created from his head; the Kshatrias from his hands; the Vaishias from his thighs and the Sudras from his feet. The Varna hierarchy is determined by the descending order of the different organs from which the Varnas were created. Other religious theory claims that the Varnas were created from the body organs of Brahma, who is the creator of the world.

The psychological theory talks about Sattva qualities include wisdom, intelligence, honesty, goodness and other positive qualities. Rajas include qualities like passion, pride, valour and other passionate qualities. Tamas qualities include dullness, stupidity, lack of creativity and other negative qualities. People with different doses of these inherent qualities adopted different types of occupation.

According to this theory the Brahmans inherent Sattva qualities. Kshatrias and Vaisias inherent Rajas qualities. And the Sudras inherent Tamas qualities.

Like human beings, food also inherents different dosage of these qualities and it affects its eater’s intelligence. The Brahmans and the Vaisias have Sattvic diet which includes fruits, milk, honey, roots and vegetables. Most of the meats are considered to have Tamasic qualities. Many Sudra communities eat different kinds of meat (but not beef) and other Tamasic food. But the Kshatrias who had Rajasic diet eat some kinds of meat like deer meat which is considered to have Rajasic qualities. Many Marathas who claim to be Kshatrias eat mutton. The drawback of this theory is that in different parts of India the same food was sometimes qualified to have different dosage of inherent qualities. For example there were Brahmans who eat meat which is considered Tamasic food.

As a tool of social engineering, caste system came into existence. In order to secure their status the Aryans resolved some social and religious rules which, allowed only them to be the priests, warriors and the businesmen of the society. As in most of the societies of the world, so in India, the son inherited his father’s profession. And so in India there developed families, who professed the same family profession for generation in which, the son continued his father’s profession. Later on as these families became larger, they were seen as communities or as they are called in Indian languages, Jat. Different families who professed the same profession developed social relations between them and organized as a common community, meaning Jat.

Later on the Aryans who created the caste system, added to their system non-Aryans. Different Jats who professed different professions were integrated in different Varnas according to their profession. Other foreign invaders of ancient India – Greeks, Huns, Scythains and others – who conquered parts of India and created kingdoms were integrated in the Kshatria Varna (warrior castes). But probably the Aryan policy was not to integrate original Indian communities within them and therefore many aristocratic and warrior communities that were in India before the Aryans did not get the Kshatria status.

Most of the communities that were in India before the arrival of the Aryans were integrated in the Sudra Varna or were made outcast depending on the professions of these communities. Communities who professed non-polluting jobs were integrated in Sudra Varna. And communities who professed polluting professions were made outcasts. The Brahmans are very strict about cleanliness. In the past people believed that diseases can also spread also through air and not only through physical touch. Perhaps because of this reason the untouchables were not only disallowed to touch the high caste communities but they also had to stand at a certain distance from the high castes.

After the tragic death of YSR Reddy, chief minister, Andhra Pradesh, some of YSR’s followers campaigned to install his son as his successor.

Jagan Mohan Reddy, son of YSR only weeks ago had successfully contested parliamentary elections. He had never held any portfolio but within hours of his father’s death, YSR’s party wanted to appoint him the chief minister of a large and prosperous state. The Congress leadership at the centre under Sonia Gandhi does not want to relent on this issue. By the way, after Indira Gandhi’s death, her son Rajiv Gandhi came back into politics. But Rahul Gandhi has not yet contested for the Prime Minister’s post and this could be the reason that Congress leadership is not keen to suddenly propel Jagan Mohan Reddy as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.

Many reasons have been cited for Congress disinclination to oblige JM Reddy. The Congress party at the Centre wants to show that it calls the shots and if it relents to the demand of followers of YSR, it will set a precedent and other Chief Minister’s would think of carving their own independent fiefdoms.
Further Congress party is aware that if JM Reddy is made the Chief Minister, it will open a pandora’s box as both nationally and internationally it will open Congress party for criticism.

We must not get carried away by Congress leadership’s attitude towards Jagan Mohan Reddy, but read between the lines as the list of candidates released for the forthcoming state elections in Maharashtra is peppered with names of Congress party leaders from this State. Maybe Congress party feels that it is alright to do so during elections time and in other times it has to maintain its holier than thou status.

Roots of dynasty politics run so deep that even the son of the president of India has secured a party nomination. This has been done to topple his challengers which include an erstwhile powerful lone wolf congress loyalist who fell out of favor with the congress leadership at the centre.

Most of the other political parties also follow the leader in dynasty politics. The ruling elite in regional parties have ensured that their successors are in the power game. It has to be seen as a profession and its roots go back to the caste system.

Mr Karunanidhi and his clan have a say in the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), TamilNadu , by the way it is also a partner in the governing coalition in Delhi.

Take another example of the Sangmas from Meghalaya, and whodoes not know about Lalu Prasad Yadav and his family’s hold in the RJD in Bihar. The Badals clan run the Akali Dal in Punjab, the Thackeray clan runs Shiv Sena in Maharashtra and the Chaudhary Charan Singh clan have great influence in parts of Uttar Pradesh.

A very fascinating side of Indian politics is the case of Mayawati of BSP, Chief Minister of UP and Jayalalitha, leader of AIADMK in Tamil Nadu. These two single women are fabled for their autocratic ways.

The fresh blood which has been injected in both the houses of parliament shows that most of the young MPs are scions of their parents who had considerable hold in their respective states. Whether it be a Gandhi, Abdullah, Pawar, Scindhia, Pilot, Prasad, Yadav, Sangma, Satpathy, Choudhary, Deora, Dutt…etc.,

With due respect to the ability of these scions from various political dynasties in India, these may be very intelligent and hardworking children of political dynasties of India but in the regions which they represent it will not be wrong to say that they have also usurped the right of ordinary Indians to secure nominations from mainstream political parties to contest elections. Another scion of a political family is Sachin Pilot, a normally very sure-footed and smooth-talking management graduate, second-term MP and a minister in the central government.

To understand Indian politics, one needs to understand that the Indian vote bank votes on caste ideologies. These scions of ruling family or others have vote banks which holds their families in favorable perception.

Indian democracy is about understanding the Indian caste system as voters cast their votes based on their religious ideology or caste ideologies.

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