This refers to the Q&A with Jan Myrdal (February 12). The Swedish writer and political commentator rightly asserts that heredity is not the best way to select leaders. However, there’s nothing wrong in the idea if these leaders are selected democratically. And in some cases it benefits the party — Sonia Gandhi’s leadership saved the Congress from disintegration. Hereditary politics is also prevalent in other parties like the Samajwadi Party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and so on. Indeed the caste system is a deep and destructive reality in India, but we hope for it to disappear with education and better economic development. Along with that it would be desirable to see India’s growth story encompass people at the very bottom. In this context, we expect the coming Budget to give a new turn to policies concentrating more on welfare measures, health, education, price stability, agricultural growth and so on rather than merely stressing growth numbers.
Jacob Sahayam, Thiruvananthapuram
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