Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
broadens and protects the base of politicians' riches and powers of patronage, and it also
helps with the management of illicit wealth passing from one generation to another.
That partly explains why politicians' relatives are often rumoured to be handling their
parents' corrupt deals. They can help to protect the money involved and provide continuity
in what might be called investment management. Massive amounts of money gained from
bribes are often invested in real estate and other ventures through
benami
(Hindi for an-
onymous) names that are either false or belong to less visible people such as associates and
servants. Sometimes the money is laundered through 'round tripping' via Mauritius and
other tax havens and back into India as investments, with the politicians' identities hidden
in the benami names and shell companies. The downside for the families is that the people
whose names are being used sometimes refuse to hand back the wealth, for example after
a politician dies, so the existence of a dynasty can help to manage such problems. On the
other hand, relatives become ambitious and use their proximity to someone in power to fur-
ther their own separate business interests, with or without a politician's knowledge.
Political parties gain from dynasties because, as with film stars and sports stars, family
candidates are instantly recognisable, so they usually have less difficulty selling themselves
in huge political arenas like India where there can be as many as 30 candidates and three
million potential voters in one constituency. Most important of all, it is the family name
that matters - Brand Gandhi generates instant recognition. It is not surprising therefore that,
in the past decade, there have been increasing numbers of dynastic parliamentary candid-
ates, in addition to the older political families who are led in terms of prominence by the
Gandhi clan - Rahul and his Italian-born mother Sonia, plus Sonia's estranged sister-in-law
Maneka and her son Varun who are BJP MPs. The brands may not always pull in the votes
however, as Rahul Gandhi discovered humiliatingly when he campaigned in state elections
in 2012 and 2013. The offspring's activities bring enhanced importance to a family brand
and to its longevity in the public spotlight. This strengthens politicians' own positions be-
cause they will have people around them who can (usually but not always) be trusted.
This is not to argue that all dynasties are necessarily corrupt, nor that all the family mem-
bers who go into politics do so merely for reasons of sustaining power and patronage down
through the generations. And, of course, India is a democracy, so all dynastic aspirants have
to win elections and confirm themselves as leaders, as the Nehru-Gandhis have done since
the 1920s. Dynasties are also common in many other areas - from company promoters to
film stars and lawyers. In all of them, as with politicians, individuals have to establish their
own success to a greater or lesser degree.
In Western democracies, elected dynasties play a limited role. In America, the Bush fam-
ily has not come to dominate the Republican Party and the charismatic Kennedys, though
inlf uential, only produced one president and have not controlled the Democratic Party.
The Clintons so far have only had a husband and wife with top jobs, though their daughter
