Birthright vs Merit: India’s democracy trapped in family rule

For decades, one family has towered over Indian politics. The influence of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty – including independent India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, and current opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra – is bound up with the history of India’s struggle for freedom. But it has also cemented the idea that political leadership can be a birthright. This idea has penetrated Indian politics across every party, in every region, and at every level.

While the Nehru-Gandhi family is associated with the Indian National Congress, dynastic succession prevails across the political spectrum. After the passing of Bijayananda (Biju) Patnaik – who was influential in the formation of the Janata Dal party – his son Nave