Divided we stand

Uttar Pradesh’s ruling Samajwadi party, in the recent past has been facing battles not just from opposition, but from within, as father and party president Mulayam Singh Yadav and son Akhilesh Yadav — also the chief minister — have been locking horns over various issues.

Families feuding against one another, especially when they’re in the limelight, are not uncommon and are seen across spheres, from politics to business, and even the film industry. Whether it’s Ambani brothers’ division of companies, Maneka and Varun Gandhi siding with their “family” party’s opposition, or Raj Thackeray’s decision to form the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena after differences with his cousin and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav, ego and power seem to be the driving force behind wedges between powerful families.

“The clash is always because of two power centres, and when there are differences in their perspectives,” says Kamala Ganesh, a professor of sociology at the University of Mumbai. “With Akhilesh and Mulayam’s case, both are in power, and no one has relinquished their power. If we look at other cases like Karunanidhi or even Jayalalitha, we’ll find that eventually there will be reconciliation, at least publicly. Of course, what will happen is a realignment of power, some compromises and hidden agendas, which the public will never get to know,” he adds.

The lack of a charismatic leader could also lead to power struggles among family, says Prof Ramachandran, executive director of the Thomas Schmidheiny Centre for Family Enterprise at the Indian School of Business, who says, “In the absence of stewardship values of service and family level code of conduct, this is bound to happen. Families that lead political parties ought to have shared purpose and strategy to remain unified and build ‘competitive advantage’ for the whole family.”

And while these feuds take up most of our primetime media coverage, others add that such battles have a heavier impact not just on the families but on the industry they’re in, and the country itself. Jayaprakash Narayan, founder and president of the Lok Satta party, says, “There is desperation to use family as a ladder, instead of relying on your own hard work. And once that happens, the family-driven positions always follow autocracy — someone in the family will decide. So there will be jealousy between two brothers, such as the case with Stalin and Alagiri in Tamil Nadu, or other members. It’s a very feudal, medieval approach and unless we change that, we will suffer as a country.”

He adds, “The party will suffer eventually. In the short term, people may fall in line, but ultimately we see how it affects it — today, the Congress is in decline, the Samajwadi party has fights. You’re deterring the finest people, the ones with the best ideas and ambitions won’t be given a chance. How will such a party survive ”

According to Andhra intellectual forum convenor Chalasani Srinivas, hero worshipping is what propagates these feuds: “People propagate themselves as heroes, and that only this or that clan can rule, and this is causing irreparable damage to democracy. As Mayawati rightly said, issues like these distract people from the real problems and they, in the end, pose together for family photos saying everything is fine.”

But looking at the larger picture can actually help families work through their ego, to remain successful and happy. Says film historian S.M.M. Ausaja, “Sometimes, when there are differences, it only makes sense to separate and realign oneself. However, if this separation is mutual and amicable, it is beneficial to both the parties. Several of B.R. Chopra’s hits were directed by Yash Chopra. Since Yash was so talented, they later separated — and this was a mutual decision. Yash was groomed under B.R. Chopra and later both the brothers went on to do some great work in their lives, which means that not all parting is done with distaste.”

With inputs from Swati Sharma, Somudra Banerjee and Pooja Salvi