Blog

The problem with likes of the Gymkhana club of Delhi which many call an imperial relic, but which has actually turned out to be much worse than a colonial hangover is the same as India’s dynastic political parties: easy access to the top perks without any suitable merit or checks if you are the chosen one. In the case of the Gymkhana, till very recently, you could get an instant pass to coveted membership simply by virtue of lineage; in political parties, access to top leadership often comes merely by the incidence of birth… a distinction the Constitution of India had intended to obliterate in a republic.