Sadanand Dhume complains in a recent article on WSJ.com that “[o]paque family rule is no way to run a political party, let alone a major economy and aspiring great power.” In response, I posted the following comment:
Mr. Dhume describes the Congress party as “utterly amorphous” and as a “motley crew.” The same adjectives can describe India and that too in a positive vein. It is only appropriate that India’s largest political party shares the country’s characteristics of diverging views and vigorous debate. In bemoaning the lack of “adherence to a coherent ideology” Mr. Dhume is implying a preference for the regimented and ideological RSS/BJP combine, which was thoroughly routed in the past election. It is interesting that India’s articulate “chatterati” is complaining of the Gandhis’ inaccessibility in a Western newspaper. That India does not care is also reflected in the verdict of the last election, when the Gandhis’ were as visible and accessible to the electorate as any other political party.
