Yesterday’s news showed stories of 3 important families, all inexplicably linked to each other. History is like that, strange but sure and inevitable.
The first story was that of Karunanidhi camping out in Delhi to bargain for ministerial seats for his family in the new Indian cabinet. He wanted 8 posts, primarily for his family – one son, one daughter and another, a nephew. The rest were for other common members of his party, ostensibly to balance out and appease regional and caste factors in the state. Thankfully, another son is already firmly entrenched in state-level politics and may take over as the Chief Minister’s mantle from his father.
The second was that of the “Familiy” of Indian politics – the Nehru/Gandhi clan. This family’s history is very much a part of Modern India’s history – struggle for freedom, the hard-won independence, the resurrection of a bruised nation, abuse of power during Emergency, the untimely deaths of family members, the torch passed on to the closest relatives, a “supreme sacrifice” of prime ministerial ambitions by a Foreign-born woman, the young scion successfully forging ahead in his political career while his sister waits in the sidelines, biding her own time.
The third story was that of the recently slain Tamil Tiger Prabhakaran and the death of his family. A day after Prabhakaran’s dead body was paraded as a show of victory for the Sri Lankan Military came the announcement that the bodies of his wife, daughter and younger son were also found in a lagoon nearby. Prabharkaran’s elder son himself had died a day earlier.
History links these 3 families incredibly. Prabhakaran was the man who murdered Rajiv Gandhi and Karunanidhi is the man who calls Prabhakaran a friend or freedom fighter or a terrorist as it suits his political convenience. Karunanidhi is also a political friend of Sonia Gandhi, the widow of the very man Prabhakaran killed. Wow!
History unifying these families apart, the events also got me thinking on the whole issue of family inheritance. Why is meritocracy a mere entry in the Oxford Dictionary? Why do you see bloodline taking supremacy over everything else? I am not being harsh on only a few people. Look all around you. Hollywood, Bollywood, Kollywood, Tollywood – sons, daughters, nephews, nieces, all follow their famous relatives’ footsteps. Seriously, how many Kollywood stars would have been given a second glance on a screen test but for their talismanic famous surnames or family identities? Let’s look at the world of business. Kids go to fancy business schools, come back and join as directors of companies by the time they turn 25 and are on a fast track program to become heads of business conglomerates. Be it companies listed on Wall Street or Dalal Street,
this is true.
Be it the world’s largest democracy or the oldest democracy, the same holds good. George W Bush has to thank his grandfather Prescott Bush for his incredible luck, not just hanging chads or Katherine Harris in Florida. His most formidable opponent Al Gore was no less blessed having Al Gore Sr. as his father. The number of political dynasties in India is plainly mind numbing. Turn to any corner of the country – there are Singhs, Yadavs, Raos, Reddys, Bahuguna, Dutts, Patnaiks etc. The Magna Carta may have happened in 1215. But, the British Commonwealth still bows its head to the Queen.
I suppose that only in skill-based activities does meritocracy truly reign supreme. Performing arts (I am not including the movie industry for obvious reasons) and sports are prime examples. Yes, there are musical lineages in both Carnatic and Hindustani classical music but they can survive and have survived only if the progeny genuinely had the talent to showcase to the world. Being Gavaskar’s son did not help his son beyond the ill-fated Indian Cricket league.
Is that why parents take an active interest in promoting their own? Is it parental instinct to provide for their own or is it genuine fear that the children cannot survive without the protective nudge from above? There is a saying in Tamil, “Vaathiyar Pillai Makku.” A teacher’s son is a dunce. Does that fear make parents fallible?
But, does blind love also impair and imperil parents? Push them to fatal errors? Was it Prabhakaran’s love that kept his family with him? Or did he think that sending his family to safety would signal a betrayal of his commitment to the Eelam cause and his suffering brethren? Was his blind affection that helped promote Charles Anthony as the head of the Sea Tigers? Why did Prabhakaran’s wife, daughter and young son have to meet with such a gruesome end?
Why else would Azhagiri whose supporters killed 3 innocent people in an attack on Sun TV’s Madurai office today be in the contention for a Ministerial post? Why would the self-styled poet Kanimozhi be rumoured to be in the race for the Health Ministry? Of the 39 MPs across parties from TN, and the 20 from across DMK, only the family is miraculously capable and deemed fit to head ministerial positions?
What but family legacy could have propelled Indira, Sanjay, Rajiv, Sonia now followed by Rahul to head the Indian National Congress, the same party under whose banner men of taller stature and persona fought for India’s freedom? Or if you have to see it differently, was his mother’s sacrifice of the Prime Ministership the right example for Rahul to spurn any power-play roles, which he can so easily claim?
Don’t get me wrong. I am not being harshly judgemental and implying that family dynasties are all wrong. The Ambani brothers have increased shareholder (and their own) wealth more than in their father’s lifetime. The Tata family has been the conscience keepers of the business community in India. Naveen Patnaik may have gotten a backdoor entry into Orissa politics but is also in the forefront of a radically fresh image in Orissa. Just that the abuse of this privilege makes me feel sad.
On a lighter vein, when I was diagnosed with Osteo-arthritis almost 1.5 years ago, I asked my doctor the reason. Why did I get it such a young age? He answered, “May be genetics, you may have inherited it.” Made sense, 3 of my maternal aunts have either arthritis or bone related problems, although they acquired it a much older age. I promptly called my mother and asked, “Of all the things you could have passed on to me as family inheritance - money, good looks, fair skin, intelligence and anything else, you chose to pass on Arthritis from your family?” My mother just laughed. Enough said.
The first story was that of Karunanidhi camping out in Delhi to bargain for ministerial seats for his family in the new Indian cabinet. He wanted 8 posts, primarily for his family – one son, one daughter and another, a nephew. The rest were for other common members of his party, ostensibly to balance out and appease regional and caste factors in the state. Thankfully, another son is already firmly entrenched in state-level politics and may take over as the Chief Minister’s mantle from his father.
The second was that of the “Familiy” of Indian politics – the Nehru/Gandhi clan. This family’s history is very much a part of Modern India’s history – struggle for freedom, the hard-won independence, the resurrection of a bruised nation, abuse of power during Emergency, the untimely deaths of family members, the torch passed on to the closest relatives, a “supreme sacrifice” of prime ministerial ambitions by a Foreign-born woman, the young scion successfully forging ahead in his political career while his sister waits in the sidelines, biding her own time.
The third story was that of the recently slain Tamil Tiger Prabhakaran and the death of his family. A day after Prabhakaran’s dead body was paraded as a show of victory for the Sri Lankan Military came the announcement that the bodies of his wife, daughter and younger son were also found in a lagoon nearby. Prabharkaran’s elder son himself had died a day earlier.
History links these 3 families incredibly. Prabhakaran was the man who murdered Rajiv Gandhi and Karunanidhi is the man who calls Prabhakaran a friend or freedom fighter or a terrorist as it suits his political convenience. Karunanidhi is also a political friend of Sonia Gandhi, the widow of the very man Prabhakaran killed. Wow!
History unifying these families apart, the events also got me thinking on the whole issue of family inheritance. Why is meritocracy a mere entry in the Oxford Dictionary? Why do you see bloodline taking supremacy over everything else? I am not being harsh on only a few people. Look all around you. Hollywood, Bollywood, Kollywood, Tollywood – sons, daughters, nephews, nieces, all follow their famous relatives’ footsteps. Seriously, how many Kollywood stars would have been given a second glance on a screen test but for their talismanic famous surnames or family identities? Let’s look at the world of business. Kids go to fancy business schools, come back and join as directors of companies by the time they turn 25 and are on a fast track program to become heads of business conglomerates. Be it companies listed on Wall Street or Dalal Street,
this is true.
Be it the world’s largest democracy or the oldest democracy, the same holds good. George W Bush has to thank his grandfather Prescott Bush for his incredible luck, not just hanging chads or Katherine Harris in Florida. His most formidable opponent Al Gore was no less blessed having Al Gore Sr. as his father. The number of political dynasties in India is plainly mind numbing. Turn to any corner of the country – there are Singhs, Yadavs, Raos, Reddys, Bahuguna, Dutts, Patnaiks etc. The Magna Carta may have happened in 1215. But, the British Commonwealth still bows its head to the Queen.
I suppose that only in skill-based activities does meritocracy truly reign supreme. Performing arts (I am not including the movie industry for obvious reasons) and sports are prime examples. Yes, there are musical lineages in both Carnatic and Hindustani classical music but they can survive and have survived only if the progeny genuinely had the talent to showcase to the world. Being Gavaskar’s son did not help his son beyond the ill-fated Indian Cricket league.
Is that why parents take an active interest in promoting their own? Is it parental instinct to provide for their own or is it genuine fear that the children cannot survive without the protective nudge from above? There is a saying in Tamil, “Vaathiyar Pillai Makku.” A teacher’s son is a dunce. Does that fear make parents fallible?
But, does blind love also impair and imperil parents? Push them to fatal errors? Was it Prabhakaran’s love that kept his family with him? Or did he think that sending his family to safety would signal a betrayal of his commitment to the Eelam cause and his suffering brethren? Was his blind affection that helped promote Charles Anthony as the head of the Sea Tigers? Why did Prabhakaran’s wife, daughter and young son have to meet with such a gruesome end?
Why else would Azhagiri whose supporters killed 3 innocent people in an attack on Sun TV’s Madurai office today be in the contention for a Ministerial post? Why would the self-styled poet Kanimozhi be rumoured to be in the race for the Health Ministry? Of the 39 MPs across parties from TN, and the 20 from across DMK, only the family is miraculously capable and deemed fit to head ministerial positions?
What but family legacy could have propelled Indira, Sanjay, Rajiv, Sonia now followed by Rahul to head the Indian National Congress, the same party under whose banner men of taller stature and persona fought for India’s freedom? Or if you have to see it differently, was his mother’s sacrifice of the Prime Ministership the right example for Rahul to spurn any power-play roles, which he can so easily claim?
Don’t get me wrong. I am not being harshly judgemental and implying that family dynasties are all wrong. The Ambani brothers have increased shareholder (and their own) wealth more than in their father’s lifetime. The Tata family has been the conscience keepers of the business community in India. Naveen Patnaik may have gotten a backdoor entry into Orissa politics but is also in the forefront of a radically fresh image in Orissa. Just that the abuse of this privilege makes me feel sad.
On a lighter vein, when I was diagnosed with Osteo-arthritis almost 1.5 years ago, I asked my doctor the reason. Why did I get it such a young age? He answered, “May be genetics, you may have inherited it.” Made sense, 3 of my maternal aunts have either arthritis or bone related problems, although they acquired it a much older age. I promptly called my mother and asked, “Of all the things you could have passed on to me as family inheritance - money, good looks, fair skin, intelligence and anything else, you chose to pass on Arthritis from your family?” My mother just laughed. Enough said.
Hi Sujatha
ReplyDeleteInheritence also comes from the fact that from the day you are born, you are made to think and behave in a particular manner. I have seen something from very close quarters and can share. After IIMB (1996), I used to work for Ramco Systems and was quite close to PR Venkatarama Raja, the owner. He always had 3-4 people running around to do things for him. My daughter goes to Arsha Vidya Mandir, a school run by his wife. He comes for the Annual Day and midway through the program wants to drink some water. He just gets up, 3 people run towards him, he just indicates what he wants, one runs to the Mercedes parked at the gate and gets water for him. I thought I would have felt very awkward if the same thing were to happen to me.
A few months later, I was at a program along with him at one of the cotton mills at Rajapalayam. His son, a student of class VI was also there. 3 people followed him wherever he went. That is when I realised how such behavious from others seem so normal to them.
This familiarity with the situation is what makes them ahead of the rest in such situations.
Arindam Chandra
Hi Sujatha,
ReplyDeleteExcellent connection on Karunanidhi, Sonia Gandhi and Prabhakaran. Speaking of inheritance, who was the last CM who became the CM truly for who they were and not because of who they were related to? It seems like we have to go a long way back to Kamraj, right?
I am posting it late coz I had a hard time Crtl C+ V ing of my comments. However I was determined to shed my laziness and post it today. This was a topic that caught my attention when i clicked the URL in Sakthi's GTalk. I liked the volubility and the correlation of the Congress's Scion, The first family of TN and the Valkyrie of Sri lanka. Having expressed that, it is irrefutable that inheritance is inevitable, be it a WIPRO led by Azim Premji or OSteo Arthritis/Diabetes acquired from genealogical tree. Inheritance is a realy unless someone in tree is deprived the power of reproducing. The analogy was top draw. Before signing off This is Ravi Narala friend of Sakthi. I truncated my inherited name(Ravikumar Narala Deenadayalan) a.k.a "NDR" to my school mates.
ReplyDeleteThe connections you have so nicely brought out in this blog are akin to movies by the Mexican Director Alexandro Gonzales Innyaratu, movies such as Amores Perros, Babel etc. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteP.S: Turkish lunch was hot, it burnt my wallet! :-) Well, Sujatha, I am not anonymous anymore!!