Do we Have the Right Kind of Leadership?

do we have the right kind of Leadership? ­

Corruption in India is so rampant that it frustrates not only the most talented and promising young men but also the common man in all walks of life. We have to overcome this malaise - but how?Normally it is given to a genius to carve out a way where none seems possible. In every age and clime some such leaders have emerged who did pioneer a thought or movement that gave their country and people a new direction. We are in dire need of such a leader or a team of inspiring people who will rejuvenate and take India to new heights where she would hold her head high with the other advanced nations of the world.

Today Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam is one of the tallest leaders in the country. He is known as the missile man because he was the key figure in the development of various kinds of missiles that not only boosted the status of India but also benefited her in many ways. Dr. Kalam says, “basically I am a teacher and convergence of technologies is my area”. Truly he is a teacher and a very inspiring one too. He invites and personally replies to questions from the young all over the country. Thus he remains in constant touch with the youth. Though he is the first citizen of the country he essentially remains a people’s President. Men like him, Verghese Kurien, Dr. Kamla Kulshreshtha etc. have set an example that by your initiative, courage and determined efforts you can carry the country forward.

According to Dr. Kalam politics is a combination of developmental politics and political politics. As he is convinced that 70% of politicians are striving for developmental politics, he is not bothered about 30% indulging in political politics. In fact, he thinks that the entirefocus of politics should be at developmental politics. India requires development and every politician should have a dream of achieving that goal. These ideas were spelled out by Dr. Kalam while interacting with the journalists accompanying him on his recent tour of Singapore, the Philippines and S. Korea.

“Don’t let problems defeat you. Defeat the problem.” Recalling Prof. Satish Dhawan’s advice to him early in his career not to let our problems become our master and be ready to take new challenges, President Kalam gave this advice to the IOC official Manjunath’s parents and other officials who might, givenManjunath’s fate, be wary of taking a stand. No doubt this advice is not easy to follow, those who are wedded to probity and integrity are often the victims of extremely tragic events like the killing on Nov. 27, 2003 of IIT, Kanpur engineer, Satyendra Dubey of 1990-94 batch who had exposed large scale corruption going on in the Golden Quadrilateral Project. A similar fate awaited IOC engineer Manjunath Shanmugam an alumnus from IIM, Lucknow and a Sales Officer of the Indian Oil Corporation who had questioned the adulteration at petrol pumps was murdered in Nov. 05.

The Government runs the country but it is the people’s active participation in the solution of numerous problems that a country can rapidly advance to prosperity and happiness. Often ordinary people throw up leaders in different fields of life, which must be recognized, appreciated and encouraged so that people can contribute to the well being of the society without depending too much on government help. Here are someknown and unknown personalitieswho have given their best for the country or the community in which they live. Their initiative and achievements show that the country is vibrant and on the march.

The first name that comes to mind is that of Verghese Kurien, the architect of Operation Flood. He states thus; “I believe that our destiny is written by us, not by God. If we have the spirit and will to achieve something, we will definitely get that.” He says about himself: “I come from a lower middle class family. When I can achieve so much anyone can...My philosophy in life is to do as much good as I can to those who are less fortunate. But I would like to live as a common man.” Can any thoughts be nobler? Every word of his philosophy is worthy of emulation by all of us and much more by ourpoliticians.

Kurien is a man of principles. For him the milk growers at the lowest level are the most important which is completely against the private players having an interest in the dairy sector. For his exemplary work he received the Magsaysay Award in 1963, Krishi Ratna Award in 1966 and Padma Vibhushan in 1999.

Kurien resigned from the chairmanship of National Dairy Development Board on March 20 and now has been appointed as the first Chancellor of the Allahabad University. His appointment has been hailed by all the staff members of the varsity. Prof H. N. Misra, the proctor, called him as “one of the greatest agricultural leaders of the century”. He set up the Anand Dairy Development and provided self-employment opportunities to lakhs of rural families. His ideas and innovations for establishing cooperatives have proved a boon for the farmers of the country. The teachers expressed confidence that the functioning of the varsity would improve as Kurien is known for his honesty and dedication towards a cause and that he had the courage to take initiatives and decisions to be taken at the highest level.

Another name is that of Bindeshwari Pathak, the founder father of Sulabh lavatories in India. He has been invited by the Afghanistan government to build low cost lavatories in that country. Toilet facilities are worse in Afghanistan than in India. In his latest book, The Future of India, Bimal Jalan, former governor of RBI and now an MP mentions two undertakings that have proved to be outstanding success of public and private enterprises, one is public call offices and the other Sulabh International. In the last 35 years Sulabh has provided toilet facilities to over one million homes, and has 5,500 pay and use toilets working across the country night and day. It has generated more than 5000 jobs and freed thousands of sweepers from carrying night soil. (Figures from Khushwant Singh’s column in Hindustan Times, 26-11-05) Still much remains to be done.

Dr. Kulshreshtha is an NBRI scientist who has undertaken to work for the welfare of the poor through science. Along with her team she has been working with the villagers of Mohanlal Ganj, U.P. She is educating the villagers about the benefits of healthy food and healthy eating. At first they were very skeptical but her team changed their minds. Dr. Kulshreshtha says that her main aim was to educate women about the link between healthy eating and the development of a child’s brain. She taught that even the simple foods, if eaten correctly worked wonders. She formed a group of 25-35 women. The group was made to clean a small patch of land and put manure in it. Then the scientists gave away the seeds for various seasonal vegetables, which the women used in their fields.

She says, “Now these women have become efficient and grow excess vegetables to sell them in the adjoining villages. These people just need a little motivation and help with which they can do wonders. Dr. Kulshreshtha plans to take many such projects. She feels proud of this success and considers it “my success story”.

Nasreen: She is a chikankari worker and has never been to school. She says, “I came to SEWA when I was just seven years old. My mother used to work there.” Gradually she learnt chikankari and earned Rs. 200 a month. But quickly she mastered the art and started visiting villages to teach and spread chikankari. She has been all over the world on her own. She has taken the art of chikankari to London, Spain, Italy and Paris. She used to go there to show the art to the peoples of these foreign lands. She says: “In 1992, I went to London, all alone. From Charbagh railway station to London it was a big journey. In the beginning I was very scared. I don’t know the language or anybody there. I just knew that a person with a particular name is going to meet me. But gradually I got accustomed to the place.”

In London she got a reward from the organizers for her good work. With the money she bought a house for her family. In subsequent years she took the art to various other places and locations and earned laurels for her work. But she had the best time in Paris. “I loved the place. It was a paradise.” Now 30, she is happily married. She believes “Money is not the end of everything. Money should never destroy you. It should just support you. Every woman should work for herself. Working gives her power and makes her self-sufficient.”

The ideal of voluntary labor has found a new metaphor in a unique project successfully completed by the village folk of Banki-Dampara block in Cuttack district about a week ago. Around 1000 people drawn from 50 villages worked for over a month to complete a 2 km long channel connecting the mighty Mahanadi river which had changed its course, with its tributary, Rananadi, the lifeline for the 5500 strong population of the 100 villages of the area. Tareswar Swain, a resident of a village who worked on the project hailed it as the first community river linking project of the country. About 2500 acres of land in 100 villages of the area would get irrigation facility. Each family contributed free labor and what is noteworthy is that there were no absentees. (Sahara Apr. 1, 06)

Neglected by the government the villagers built their own bridge at Balighat on the river Budhabalang in Orissa. The villagers decided to construct the wooden bridge when the authorities failed to complete the concrete bridge even after 20 years. The villagers claimed that they had spent nearly 2 lakhs of rupees for the purpose, with contributions from 13 villages. The 183 meters long and five feet wide wooden bridge was erected within a month. “With the completion of the wooden bridge, the transportation problem has been partially solved. It has greatly benefited students, patients and businessmen,” said Bhaskar Jena, state secretary of Utkalsamaj. (TOI, Apr. 5, 06)

Examples can be multiplied. But what is of utmost importance is that the achievements of simple folks must be highlighted in the media. If the masses are galvanized to organize and solve local problems collectively, not entirely depending upon government’s help then the country and the people will gain a new confidence and will quickly march to progress and prosperity.

A man who has the vision and courage to take initiative and has the capacity to take bold decisions is bound to be a leader in whatever field he may be working. Today India stands at crossroads and needs a leader who, to use a Churchillian phrase, is endowed with a gift of ‘courageous statesmanship’ to guide the nation, brushing aside the cobwebs of problems. Instead of frittering our energy in petty squabbles we must work unitedly for the country.

In this connection it is worthwhile to recall the words of Lee Kuan Yew who voluntarily stepped down in Nov. 1990 as the Prime Minister after successfully guiding the destiny of Singapore for 31 years: He was keen on choosing a successor who had the quality of leadership. The hallmark of leadership “is a character trait......It’s the capacity to take independent and carefully calculated risks. Not reckless gambles but courageous and well-planned strategies that can forge a nation’s future.” He goes on to say, “Nothing is cost free but the cost should not put a prime minister off. His job is to handle it. How well he does that is the mark of a leader.” If a politician compromises instead of tackling the problem Lee calls it ‘ducking’ the problem. The prime minister or the politician must not buckle and face the problem squarely. Someone has well said, “great leaders do not only do great things, they execute things brilliantly.” It is taken for granted that a leader possesses intelligence, integrity, diligence and dedication. Lee says, “Leadership is an indefinable quality but it is easily discernible.”

Narayan Murthy of Infosys whose revenues will cross 2 billion mark has decided to step down as chairman and hand over the charge to Nandan Nilekani when he retires on Aug. 20, 2006. He will only continue as a non-executive chairman for another 5 years. He does not want to join politics but, he says, “I will be happy to be associated where there is a sense of urgency, passion for implementation and focus on the outcome.” He goes on to say, “If the Prime Minister wants me to solve a specific problem fast, and gives me full executive authority to design and implement the solution, then I will be very happy to work with him. As long as there is a determination to create a high impact outcome, I will be happy to be a member of such a taskforce.” Murthy wants to be associated with activities that have a high probability of success. That is the criteria. I am an action oriented person. I worry about speed. I worry about outcomes.” (N. Murthy talks to B. R. Srikanth - Hindustan Times, Jan. 16, 06)

It is for the P.M. and the party to entrust such persons with problems and utilize their dedication and managerial skills in the solution of problems which are bound to benefit the people and the country.