Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
prepared by the Delhi-based Association for Democratic Reforms. 18 Based on MPs' offi-
cial (though not always complete) declarations of wealth, this showed that hereditary MPs
were four-and-a-half times wealthier than those with no significant political background.
Hyper-hereditary MPs (those with multiple family connections, such as Praneet Kaur from
the Patiala dynasty mentioned above) were the wealthiest of all. Their average total assets
were roughly double those of the hereditary MPs, and they exceeded even MPs with a busi-
ness background. Of the 20 richest MPs, 15 were hereditary politicians and 10 were in the
Congress.
India's dynastic surge may well be the effect as well as the ongoing cause of a sharp de-
cline in the quality and effectiveness of Indian politics and governance that began in Indira
Gandhi's time as prime minister. Standards of public life have worsened even faster in re-
cent years as personal greed has replaced many politicians' concern for the country - espe-
cially among regional parties, whose role has expanded dramatically since the 1980s.
Notes
1 .
JE, 'In Asia, the dynasties still rule', New Statesman , 8 November 1999, ht-
tp://www.newstatesman.com/node/136052
2 . Mark Tully, No Full Stops in India , Viking-Penguin, 1991
3 . 'Waiting in the Wings: An Exclusive Interview with Chelsea Clinton', Vogue , Septem-
ber 2012 http://www.vogue.com/magazine/article/waiting-in-the-wings-an-exclusive-
interview-with-chelsea-clinton/#8
4 . JE, 'In Asia, the dynasties still rule', New Statesman , 8 November 1999, ht-
tp://www.newstatesman.com/node/136052
5 . 'Yesterday the palace, today the suburbs for deposed king of Nepal', The Independent ,
12 June 2008, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/yesterday-the-palace-
today-the-suburbs-for-deposed-king-of-nepal-845055.html
6 .
NDTV - Full transcript: 'Your Call with Farooq Abdullah', 18 March 2012, ht-
tp://www.ndtv.com/article/india/full-transcript-your-call-with-farooq-abdullah-186907
7 .
Conversations with JE, May 2012 and September 2013
8 .
http://ridingtheelephant.wordpress.com/2009/04/23/orissa%E2%80%99s-reclusive-
enigma-looks-set-for-an-election-victory/
9 .
Patrick French, India, A Portrait - An intimate biography of 1.2 billion people , Penguin
Books
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