First off, I would like to congratulate Mr. Stalin on becoming Deputy Chief Minister. Despite reports to the contrary, I did not know anything about it :-)
Secondly, in response to allegations that the Congress is dynastic in its functioning, I point to just about every other political party in India - and rest my case.
See - I'm not making an excuse by pointing fingers at others, I just think if the issue is not unique to the Congress then why do our rivals try to throw stones only at us every time they get half a chance? Agreed there is an element of dynasty driven leadership in the Congress, but we're not acting as dictators. We're perhaps the first party that is actually introducing fresh minds into our leadership ranks - not just bringing in more and more "party workers" that will "ji huzoor" the top brass as our rivals do. We're actually creating a leadership structure that has more than the Gandhi surname in it. We're actually using the power of the surname to get merit (however hidden) recognized and placed at the right spots so that overall performance of the government improves.
Let's run a thought experiment...
Imagine the Indian National Congress was currently being run by a different group of people. Assume it is a subset of the existing faces known to us, hence no new faces or dramatically different way of thinking. What then, would be the odds of getting a clean, competent and cerebral Dr. Manmohan Singh to head the government?
I know what some of you are thinking - you're questioning if Dr. Singh is indeed all that. I will address that in detail in some other post, for now just accept the mandate of the people of India.
Agreed Dr. Singh was hand picked, but his hands have not been tied. He has been functioning independently knowing very well what political constraints exist in our reality. In true shared-responsibility style of functioning, he discusses his views with senior leaders and seeks their opinion, but does indeed take his own decisions. That has become easier now with the Congress getting a stronger mandate.
Anyway, back to our experiment...
How easy could it have been for a gentleman with no mass following yet all the credentials for the job to actually get the job? I tell you this, it would have been impossible. With the dynastic craze in the party though, such decisions become a possibility, and in this case a reality. Yes it does come down to intent - does the dynasty intend to make decisions that are best for the nation, or only for its personal gain? That is out in the open for everyone to judge.
Effective leaders need to have two very important characteristics. First - they need to know how to get their people to follow them. Second, they need to know where to lead them to.
Assuming the second trait is a function of brute intelligence, compassion, trustworthy advisers and the best of intent - you would have to agree it is the more trivial trait of the two. The first trait is more tricky to exhibit. Such an ability comes (maybe) through years and years of having proven yourself right from the grass root level upto a higher level. Even then, self interest of rivals within the team can be a hindrance. What makes it easy is that magic wand called "surname". In a culture such as ours that is so driven by emotions, you would want to have a person at the helm who can take tough decisions that won't be questioned and will in fact be followed through with full rigour.
Yes, the answer now gets clearer.
If there is a political party that has this superb combination, it would be best suited to serve the people of India as a whole. Why then should it back off from such a combination? Why should it give up its competitive edge? There are some who would continue to make allegations that we're dynastic but if there are many more out there who benefit from better governance because of the Congress then the allegations don't bother me one bit. It is very rare (even in a nation of a billion) to find someone with a strong intent to improve the plight of the people, a strong group of trustworthy advisers and a strong position to influence the hearts and minds of its team.
We're not about to let this rare convergence go to waste.
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