India is a great country. The entire world may be moving in one way but when it comes to India, it has its own direction. That’s why we often hear people who come from the other parts of the world as to how they see a total contrast to what they have seen so far and what they see once they step into India. As better as it may get, while India stands proud in terms of its tradition, its embracing of western culture and the essence of diverse communities and religions, there is also another side to it.
It is the ‘family’ thing. Yes, the country has been known for its institution of family and there is no doubt that this is a commendable culture. Unfortunately, the same tends to get followed in some practical aspects too. I am talking about the aspects of business, politics, films etc. And that’s what sets us different from the rest of the world. Take for instance Paul Reed s/o the late great Steve Jobs. This might sound okay for an outside when I say that Paul is not continuing the legacy @ Apple but if Paul was in India, this would have been a major blasphemy.
In India we see Dhirubhai Ambani's legacy going to both his sons Mukesh and Anil (of course, it is a different issue that both brothers have their own set of differences). The same applies to the Birlas as well (same family issues here as well) and the Tatas (thankfully Ratan Tata is unmarried). The same goes to politics wherein we see the Gandhis, the Paswans, the Reddys, the Gowdas, the Yadavs, the Singhs etc. It’s all in the family.
From political legacy to industrial legacy, in India it becomes a family matter. Another instance is that of Bill Gates. Though he is the chief of Microsoft, his son didn’t become his successor in Microsoft. Is that possible in India? Even if it is an ordinary supermarket store, it gets virtually transferred from the father to son and so on. While that is understood, the big mystery is, why even the biggest names of the country in almost all fields tend to go the ‘family’ way. Is it about power? Is it about security? Or is it simply business? Just a thought….
Mahesh Naidu, Hyderabad
