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 The Young Turks;Scions of famous political families, this new crop of politicians offers some hope and promise for India's future. Just as an heir apparent succeeds a king or a queen to claim the throne or a scion of a religious peer's household occupies the gaddi, political families in the South Asian subcontinent have a tradition of dynastic politics where the sons and daughters of political leaders consider it to be their birthright to hold the highest position in the political party dominated by their fathers and mothers. Merit or qualifications are no consideration for elevation and it is taken for granted that the heirs of political leaders are born with the best qualities required for a leader.
Quite obviously, being a member of a political family cannot be considered a disqualification either. It may also be accepted that as a member of a family that lives politics, sleeps politics and talks politics, these sons and daughters absorb an influence and experience that stands them in good stead when they are launched into active politics and it gives them an edge over others.
While Pakistan has a large share of such political families in national politics, the situation on the other side of the border is not much different. A good number of families there have a tradition of throwing up political leaders at national and provincial level. The names of these families appear to carry a certain attraction for the masses who vote for them in the elections. Among the young brigade of politicians of India, almost all prominent ones are members of well-known political families. Standing out in the lot are Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka, Varun Gandhi, Omar Abdullah, Udhay Thackeray, etc. Apart from them Naveen Jindal and Milind Murli Deora of Indian National Congress are two other young popular legislators making an impression. They are highly talented and motivated young persons who hold a lot of promise for the future of Indian politics. They have a new agenda for the development of their country and are prepared to adopt a different approach to solve the issues hampering the nation's progress.
Going by the scale of media attention, it can be assumed that Rahul Gandhi is going to lead the party of his father and forefathers. He is the son of Rajiv Gandhi, grandson of Indira Gandhi and great-grandson of Jawahar Lal Nehru. All three have served as prime ministers of India and are held in high esteem. Rahul, a well groomed and educated young man, received an M. Phil in Development Economics from Cambridge. He was a reluctant starter in politics but pushed by his mother, Sonia Gandhi, joined the Indian National Congress and won the Lok Sabha elections from the constituency of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh (UP) in 2004. His sister Priyanka was his campaign manager. He was made the Congress general secretary and inducted into the Party's Working Committee in September 2007. He was also made in-charge of the Youth Congress and the National Students Union of India. He sought advice of academics, civil servants or senior party leaders to learn more about UP and its problems. He also tried to get a grip on Dalit politics and issues relating to the oppressed minorities. He interacted freely with the youth and motivated them to vote for the Congress.
Some of Rahul Gandhi's speeches received a mixed reaction. His saying that if anyone from Gandhi-Nehru family had been active in politics, the Babri Mosque would not have fallen, drew criticism from various quarters. He was also criticized when he gave the entire credit to Gandhi-Nehru family for the creation of Bangladesh and dismemberment of Pakistan.
Rahul does not confine himself to the drawing rooms or the circuit houses but tries to reach out to meet the people and learn of their problems. His visit to a Dalit village and his interaction with the students unions was appreciated. Rahul has shown a liking for inducting the youth in his plans for the future politics of India. He expressed deep interest in knowing the ground situation in Jammu & Kashmir and the status of his party in the region while campaigning for parliamentary elections in 2009 there. His statement, "I am here to befriend the youth of Kashmir," was of significant importance. His critics, however, say that there is no evidence of vision but only the charisma of the family name that is pushing him towards the top slot of his party. He has not given any clear indication of his stance relating to dealings with Pakistan and other neighboring countries but one can only hope that with fresh ideas and positive thinking, he would like to develop a tension-free relationship with all.
Two other young Congress leaders are Naveen Jindal of Haryana and Milind Murli Deora of Mumbai. Jindal did his MBA from the U.S. and returned to India to join his family business Jindal Steel & Power Ltd. in 1993. He joined the Congress and is a member of the Lok Sabha since 2004, representing Kurukshetra constituency of Haryana. He is a dynamic young legislator with a number of achievements for his constituency where he has made significant change in basic amenities, enhanced health care system and education facilities. According to him, "It's all about managing resources, managing people and wiping out corruption."
Milind Murli Deora is the son of a veteran politician from Maharashtra, Murli Deora. A graduate of Boston University, Milind is very active in the state of Maharashtra. He won Lok Sabha elections in 2004 and 2007 from the Mumbai South constituency. Both Jindal and Deora have vision and an agenda to realize the dream of modern India. Having fresh thoughts, they are keen to bring about positive changes in the country by breaking free from the communal issues and strife-ridden past.
The state of Mahashtra has remained under the domination of Bal Thackeray's Shiv Sena with the slogan, "Maharashtra belongs to Maharashtrians only." This anti-migrant oratory was received enthusiastically by the unemployed youth. Lately, the party has suffered a setback in elections and lost considerable ground to the Congress. Now Udhay Thackeray, son of Bal Thackeray, is the president of Shiv Sena but is facing a tough time from his cousin Raj Thackeray, who has formed a separate party - Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) - comprising the radicals from Shiv Sena. Congress was the beneficiary of the infighting in Shiv Sena and has gained vital ground in the state. Shiv Sena ruled the state as a coalition partner of BJP but is now the main opposition party there. The party's anti-Pakistan and anti-Muslim stance is no secret and Udhay dare not move away from it.
Sanjay and Maneka Gandhi's son, Varun Gandhi is the latest entrant into politics from the house of Gandhi-Nehru family. Varun chose to join Bharatiya Janata Party because of his mother's affiliations. To catch the attention of the public and the media, Varun relied on rhetoric rather than substance and succeeded in his effort. His attitude and rhetoric against the minorities drew adverse comments not only from rival political parties but also from leaders of his own party. BJP leaders, campaigning for him for a Lok Sabha seat, were taken aback by his utteringsand hurried to calm him down in a bid to control the damage to the party. With his immature behavior and lack of political grooming, Varun is not likely to play any significant role in Indian politics in the near future.
Omar Abdullah, scion of the most prominent political family of Kashmir, is a well-groomed and educated young politician. He is the son of Farooq Abdullah and grandson of Sheikh Abdullah - two icons of Kashmir politics. He joined his father's party Jammu & Kashmir National Conference and was elected to Lok Sabha in 1998 at the age of 28. A year later he became Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry and later was made Union Minister of State for External Affairs. He resigned from this post in 2002 to concentrate on party work. He succeeded his father as Party President in 2002 and was re-elected for another term in 2006.
Omar created ripples in India when against the wishes of the Centre, he came to Pakistan for a one-on-one meeting with President Pervez Musharraf in Islamabad. This was a breakthrough meeting, the first of its kind between a mainstream politician of Jammu & Kashmir and a Pakistani head of state. It gave a clear indication of his commitment to the cause of a solution of the Jammu & Kashmir dispute and his intention to go to any extent to achieve his mission.
With the new crop of young politicians emerging on the scene in India, there is a possibility of some change in attitude towards Pakistan but any major change should not be expected. While politicians like Rahul, Naveen, Milind and Omar promise a positive change, negative influence of people like Udhay and Varun dampens the hope of a positive change of heart on the other side of the fenced border.
Munir Ishrat Rahmani is a former Colonel of the Pakistan Army. He is a graduate of the Command and Staff College, Quetta and has fought during the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pakistan Wars. He was stationed in East Pakistan during the 1971 conflict and is the author of a forthcoming book on Indo-Pak military history.
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