Senior Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Shashi Tharoor on Monday warned that dynastic politics across India’s political spectrum poses a “grave threat” to the country’s democracy, asserting that it is high time India shifted from “dynasty to meritocracy”, news agency PTI reported.

Writing for the international media outlet Project Syndicate, the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha parliamentarian argued that when political power is inherited by lineage rather than earned through ability, commitment, or grassroots engagement, the quality of governance suffers. Tharoor stressed that while the Nehru-Gandhi family is most associated with dynastic politics in India, the practice extends across multiple parties and regions.