Democractically elected meglomaniacs

BBC NEWS | South Asia | New statue of India's Dalit icon

I wonder why I never got one of the chain emails on how India is better than US of A since it has had numerous female leaders. That set me thinking about the kind of female leaders that India has had. Some names that come to mind are Indira Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Jayalalitha and Mayawati. Pretty much everyone of them is an ego-maniac and some are meglomaniacs.

A recent Wall Street Journal survey showed that Americans are more willing to elect African American males or Baptist males as their leaders than having women as their leaders. Given that average American women enjoys better socio-economic freedom than their counterparts in India this survey made me wonder why is it that desis have elected women leaders. It is not the dynasty factor - that can only apply to Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. The only thread that seems to connect the four leaders are their ego and lust for power.