It reminds me of a history tutorial I wrote while in St Stephen’s college on the Mansabdari system established by the Emperor Akbar. Basically 'mansabs' meant rank and the empire was divided between mansabdars of different rank. They maintained troops and collected revenues. It was the basis for the civil administration and military strength of the Mughal Empire.
The way Indian democracy operates, the nation is indeed divided into little fiefdoms of varying shapes and sizes. From the Abdullahs of Kashmir to the Karunanidhis of Tamil Nadu, regional leaders, caste satraps and socialists are all reborn as dynasts in the great democratic circus we celebrate so much. We have the Patnaiks, Gowdas, the Pawars, the Scindias, the Thackerays... and the list is getting longer and longer.
It is a shocking subversion of the principal of equal opportunity on which political parties should run in a democracy. Even more shocking, no one challenges or even questions this trend. From the Congress that venerates the mother of all political dynasties, the infection has spread to, and is now raging across, the country and most parties are now built around the charisma of a single leader and, increasingly, the family.