The New Royalty

Last year I finished reading a couple of interesting books.The first was about the Mughal rulers of India by Abraham Eraly  and  the second  about  the last Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh by Patwant Singh.The book about the  Mughals  described in detail how Babur having lost his tiny territory in Central Asia, drifted  and eventually established the Mughal dynasty in India.Similarly the book about Maharaja Ranjit Singh described how he united the  twelve Sikh Misls ( clans) and established the Sikh Kingdom which at its height stretched from Afghanistan to Delhi. Both these empires were built with frequent battles,assassinations, constant betraying of allies or masters for personal benefit, bribing enemies or trusted lieutenants, and undoing by incompetent off springs.The hundreds of kingdoms in India ceased to exist upon Independence. They further lost their rights and privileges guaranteed to them under the Constitution  when they dared to politically  challenge Mrs.Indira Gandhi.  

However the royalists at heart in India  need not fear.There is a new generation of royalty .Looking at the present political scene in India, it appears that nothing has changed, expect the rulers are no longer called Maharajas but for all practical purposes are very similar.The are now called Ministers, Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assembly .The new royals   include the Gandhi's  at the apex of the political royals and worthy of a  36 gun salute , the Abdullahs,the Badals, the Pilots, the Scindia's ( a double royal )  and so on. They did not win their right to rule by brawn , but by vote or by inheritance. The royals  to retain their kingdom had to fight off invaders or align themselves with the stronger rulers and pay them annual tributes.  In today's world anybody who aspires to be part of the new royalty has to align him/her self with the more established parties and also be prepared to  pay  tributes  but in the form of funds for fighting elections or other purposes. Since they can no longer levy taxes directly on the citizens, they do so indirectly through corruption. At the end of the day the citizen pays one way or the other.

When the Royals traveled, roads were cleared and there was security escorts in front and back . In today's world its even worse .It would be a loss of face for even the most  minor politician  if he did not have some sub-machine gun toting guards  and escort cars with the red flashing beacon.Instead of the number of guns salute which determined your ranking among the rulers, in the political royalty  your place in the  hierarchy is determined by the different level of security category  assigned  by the government.

The royals really knew how to throw a bash to celebrate a coronation or a wedding or when they celebrated a festival. The politicians are no less. Recently newspapers were full of articles about a Delhi politician who is rumored to have spent almost Rupees One hundred crores ( or about Dollars Twenty million ) and was apparently given a helicopter worth Rupees Thirty five crores ( Dollars Seven point seven million). But then
he is supposed to be independently wealthy because he has large land holdings which has appreciated considerably over the last decade and a half. Receptions for almost five to ten thousand guests are not unusual.

As in the past whenever it appeared that their  grip on the reigns of power began to look shaky, support was bought  by carving out the equivalent of principalities , but in this case ministries are allocated  to the smaller party  or defectors who provide support. These are selected ministries which  can generate enough revenues, but steps are also taken to  ensure that tribute is shared proportionately.

The political royals are also above the law in most cases with very few instances of them actually having to serve a prison sentence regardless of their crime. In the minor principalities ( provinces) actually having a criminal charge or a having served a prison sentence is actually a badge of honor.

Serving the political royalty as in the case of the royalty are their administrators, the Indian Administrative Services . Like the prime ministers of the larger states , a few  of these administrators have grown wealthy beyond their means by exploiting their positions.

Whenever the royals overspent on baubles and toys and  ran into a spot of trouble, they went to the money lenders or hocked their family jewels or future income. Nowadays the political royals go their business houses and once elected repay the favor by providing preferential treatment. 

I could go on and on but I think you get the picture, so let me end with the time honored  toast, The Maharaja is dead, long live the Maharaja!!