Unlisted family businesses rule India

Abstract

Patrick French (alt39 India: A Portraitalt39) reveals that more than two- thirds of the under- 40 members of the Lok Sabha are hereditary and many of them are hyper hereditary, based on their dynasty.

Actually many of us forget that since 1885, members of the Motilal Nehru family have presided over the Congress party for 39 of its 125 years. Motilal Nehru was president for two years, Jawaharlal Nehru for nine, Indira Gandhi for eight and Rajiv Gandhi for seven. Sonia Gandhi holds the record both within the dynasty and the party by having the longest, unbroken tenure of 14 years and is still going strong. The party has become a family enterprise and a non- family man like Narasimha Rao is not even recognised as a former prime minster.