India’s democracy has always drawn pride from its vast electoral participation, diversity of representation, and constitutional ideals. Yet beneath this surface lies a long-standing structural ailment: dynastic politics. The latest remarks by Congress leader and author Shashi Tharoor describe this phenomenon as a “grave threat” to India’s democratic fabric. Though he was careful to say that dynastic politics exists across parties, the acknowledgement inevitably returns to the most powerful political family in modern Indian history — Gandhi–Nehru dynasty.
For over seventy years, this family has shaped national politics, framed ideological battles, and influenced India’s political culture. But alongside this influence came something corrosive: the normalisation of political entitlement, where leadership was not earned through grassroots experience or proven administrative capability, but inherited by virtue of birth.
A Dynasty Embedded in India’s Post-Independence Narrative
Independent India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, was not simply a political leader — he became a symbol of the new nation. This symbolic status, reinforced by the Congress party’s historical role in the freedom movement, gradually elevated the idea that national leadership could remain concentrated within one family. And thus initiated the contentious yet overwhelming Gandhi–Nehru dynasty.
Nehru was followed by his daughter, Indira Gandhi. Her rise further cemented the myth that political power could be preserved through lineage. After Indira, her son Rajiv Gandhi, who had neither political training nor interest in public life, was thrust into leadership. His prime ministership continued the dynastic politics, and after his assassination, the mantle again moved within the family — ultimately leading to Sonia Gandhi, and then to her children, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
This generational chain embedded in Indian political consciousness the dangerous notion that leadership is a birthright, rather than a responsibility earned through public service.
The Political Culture This Created
Shashi Tharoor, in his article for Project Syndicate, bluntly states that this dynastic politics (or Gandhi–Nehru dynasty precisely) did not only dominate Congress — it reshaped the very structure of Indian political culture.
“It has cemented the idea that leadership can be inherited.”
Once the Congress — the country’s most influential national party — normalised hereditary power, other parties followed similar track of dynastic politics. From the Abdullahs in Kashmir, to the Yadavs in Uttar Pradesh, the Thackerays in Maharashtra, the Karunanidhi family in Tamil Nadu, the Badals in Punjab, and multiple regional parties in Bihar, Telangana, and Odisha — dynastic successions became routine.
This spread of family-controlled political organizations has had long-term consequences:
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Leadership contests became rare or symbolic.
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Grassroots workers found themselves ceilinged out of real leadership roles.
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Decision-making became increasingly centralized.
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Accountability weakened because power was insulated within political dynasties.
In short, political ambition became tied not to dedication or competence, but to surnames.
Nepotism Over Meritocracy
Tharoor argues that dynastic leadership inevitably shrinks India’s talent pool. Democracy thrives when leadership emerges bottom-up, from the people. But dynastic politics reverses this logic — leaders are selected at the top and imposed downward.
This has two damaging consequences:
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Leaders become disconnected from ordinary citizens.
Born into wealth and legacy networks, such leaders rarely understand the social, economic, and emotional realities of everyday Indians. -
Political capacity gets replaced with entitlement.
When someone knows their political career is guaranteed irrespective of performance, electoral accountability erodes.
It is no coincidence that several dynastically inherited leaders have struggled in mass outreach, governance, and administrative decision-making. Leadership is not instinctive — it must be earned, learned, and refined.
The Larger Democratic Threat
Democracy rests on the principle that any citizen can aspire to lead the nation. Dynastic politics contradicts this foundational belief. As Tharoor notes:
“When political power is determined by lineage rather than ability, the quality of governance suffers.”
Democracy becomes performative rather than participatory. The people may vote, but they are choosing between pre-selected heirs, not real alternatives.
Dynastic politicsis not merely a Congress problem — but the Congress, under the Gandhi–Nehru dynasty, set the cultural precedent that made dynasty seem natural.
The Way Forward
Tharoor calls for reforms:
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Internal party elections that are meaningful, not token.
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Term limits for political office.
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Stronger political education and leadership training.
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Public awareness of evaluating leaders based on ability and integrity, not lineage.
But reforms alone are not enough.
What India needs is a shift in political imagination — a return to the idea that democratic leadership must emerge from service, competence, and public trust, not inheritance.
Conclusion
The Gandhi–Nehru dynasty played a historic role in shaping India’s politics. But the dynastic politics also normalized a culture of political inheritance that continues to weaken democratic vitality across parties and regions. Shashi Tharoor’s candid acknowledgement is not merely a criticism — it is a call for India to recover a culture of merit, accountability, and genuine democratic participation.
If India is to finally realize the promise of “government of the people, by the people, for the people,” it must learn to choose leaders not by surname, but by service and capability.