India has leaders but Lacks leadership...true?

This is a debate on a topic widely contemplated throughout the country which is somewhat controversial but equally thought provoking. The statement that India has leaders but lacks leadership does hold true in many a sense and hence, I will write FOR the motion.

India had always been referred to as the country of snake charmers, a land where you had the Maharajas and their kingdoms - precious stones, jewels, talented artisans and gifted craftsmen. It was a place where people swore their loyalty to the king and a land where faith and treachery were two different sides of the same coin. Amidst this total chaos of diversity and multi linguistic heritage, India never managed to gain the upper hand when it came to uniting under a common cause. Uniting under a common cause or a motivated leader was never possible as none could successfully manage to break the numerous barriers, separating the multitudes of differences between caste and religion & not forgetting the hunger for power.

As a result, ever since the Revolt of 1857 or even years preceding that, India always lacked leadership. Be it the arrival of the Mongols or the plundering of wealth by Mahmud of Ghazni, political stability and leadership was never there, right from the onset of the civilization.

Counter questions might pop up regarding the influence of Mahatma Gandhi on India’s freedom struggle in later years. However, with all due respect, Bapu too failed to bring in unison, the innumerable forces present in the country at that point of time which could perhaps, as many say – overthrow the British Raj over a shorter period of time and our freedom struggle would not have been a prolonged one. The very reason that our political leaders refused to step out of their comfort zones and accept certain things beyond the boundaries of their ideologies proved to have drastic consequences on the overall development of our country.

In the wider perspective, the disunited yet collective efforts of all our leaders and thinkers helped us to achieve our ultimate goal – we were blessed with freedom.

And then…

And then arrived democracy, a word misinterpreted by three fourth of the population – democracy was a game to be played, a system through which lives were resurrected and lives were destroyed. At the dint of being in power, this word could be used in parallel meanings and all the while, the influential members of our society downplayed its true essence.

In the end, nothing had changed. The winds of time had left a pond so stagnant that moss had covered it’s surface just the way clouds engulf the Sun at the time of rain. Our leaders were the same – ideology crazy, communal, power & wealth hungry and a group of individuals who could go to any extent to ensure the consolidation of their position. They had everything in them to appease the society but they were void of the quality which made them the chosen ones – leadership.

Election manifestos were smeared with their goals and ambitions and just like we have those contests on T.V, there was this asterisk which stated that conditions did apply. And what were the conditions? You give me votes I give you money. Or maybe, you give me power and I give you all, the most glorified kick of all times. Let me come to power and I will show you your limits. The limits of those who form the frame work of democracy?

Mountain of a mole hill is an apt phrase to describe the nature of our leaders who are supposed to be blessed with leadership skills let alone moral responsibility. They need an issue to feed on, they love controversies. For example, some of them can go to the extent of disgracing a decorated police officer who attained martyrdom – in a way this would shower them with all the cheap publicity they require.

In a country which still is supposed to be multi linguistic and widely diverse, we need leaders who are not just leaders but men blessed with leadership skills. Running the second most populous country of the world is by no means an easy task but credibility is a concept which is yet to be introduced in this flawed system. It is my responsibility, it is my mistake, it is my duty, it is my decision - are few sentences which are yet to be fully endorsed by our leaders. And when it is done, trust them to be blessed with leadership skills too and eventually this path will lead us to the house of change.

And then change will arrive, it surely will.

I end on an optimistic note but by no means would I soften my stand on what I spoke about. India, to achieve it’s goals of development economically and socially need to decide who they want as their pathfinders and their lamp during dark times. If we face a crisis in the near future, the sorry state of affairs is such that we will slump down to a position from where it would be difficult to rise, as the ones who will be leading us would be the ones enshrouded in the clouds of uncertainty.

We were subjugated under the rule of our British masters for 200 years and the dearth of leaders equipped with leadership skills might lead us to a position where we might find ourselves dominated by our American masters. The story of leadership would start again…

Media - A devil's advocate or a Common Man's Belief?

Living in an age completely submerged in the rise of modern day media and other infotainment contrivances, it’d be rather foolish to be walking on the opposite direction of the bandwagon. I dare say, that the age old notion of the media being the devil’s advocate indeed appeals to me in more than one sense.

Relaxing after a long day’s work, most working men of this country are greeted to constructed news which is aimed at hypnotizing the majority of the nation. This news is not always factual, as in the recent piece on the rising use of adulterants in products of daily use – which was consequently disapproved by the manufacturing house besides the evident loopholes in the piece. Moreover, in nine out of ten cases, the basis on which the report is being made is generally a matter blown out of proportion as rightly it teaches the techniques of making a mountain of a molehill. The stories as they say in media language are not monitored properly when you bring in the context of unbiased scripts. The editors, senior correspondents are somehow or the other linked with a political party and in the end you find the news channels becoming propaganda offices of many Political parties of this great nation. I say this not out of mere assumption, but it is a fact that even today in Orrisa, a leading politician actually owns a news channel company! This implies that when you watch the leader of the opposition citing harsh phrases against the ruling government and sons of ministers who allegedly implemented a sterilizing policy to control the population, target the minority communities – their claims of doctored tapes and false media reports should be dismissed faster than the speed of light.

What we see every day is all but truth. It is the portrayal of a grand theater going on somewhere that we are unaware of. A person believes in what he senses, the belief is stronger when he hears about it and when he sees it…when he sees it the word ‘conviction’ should be used in its superlative degree. We actually are exposed to the news which the media people want us to see, not the news which we have the right to see. Then tell me, when there is an election going on, why is it that a domestic cricket competition called the Indian Premier League gets more attention than the speeches of the people who are supposed to be running our country? This is all because of the devil’s avatar on earth – the media.

Five fingers would be enough to indicate the News companies which sincerely swear on broadcasting the truth – not half of it. Be it politics, entertainment, sports, leisure, lifestyle; one has to expect a conditions apply at the end of every news piece. For many orthodox followers of current affairs, the growing disinterest in reading authentic news givers like the Hindu and the Statesman is as disheartening as the departing of a loved one. It is the Times of India that sells, with news proclaiming the arrival of a city grown tennis star who reached the front page by qualifying for the finals of a second category tournament; when on the other hand you have news of minors being tortured in public, children being sold, girls being used and dumped on to the street and corrupt municipality officers eating into our pockets.

Now who does the common man turn to?

It’s a pity that I am partially contradicting myself, but the media has notably achieved things in the past which in a way has helped them get the attention and support of more than a million. It is for these million that the TRP of our news channels seemed to be always at the summit. However, there is nothing to be proud of because present day sting operations and underground coverage are nothing but a glorified version of what media has actually considered itself to be for the past few years. Modern day media banks on the glories of its previous years, not convinced? Food for thought – what were the reactions in the intellectually developing society about two decades back, when Ramdas Goenka had actually declared an open war against Dirubhai Ambani? You might not use the word ‘sting’, but the news reproduced was honestly – ‘stinging’. The media had stripped a business tycoon naked perhaps that seemed to be. But what was the end result of the hue and cry? Dirubhai Ambani was cleared of most of the charges.

Is this the credibility of our media – the common man’s belief?

The magician takes out the rabbit from his hat, the audiences watch in awe. He hypnotizes them with his hand movements and how hard you try to catch him on the wrong foot, he deceives you as he thinks a step ahead of you! Consider the media to be the magician and the rabbit to be news stories. And we? We are like always – the audience! Fooled, hoodwinked and deceived; have you ever heard us complain? Never!

We sit there every evening with a belief deep down our hearts that what we see on T.V or read on newspapers is ‘everything’ that is actually happening. But the reality is that ‘everything’ that happens within the four walls of the editorial offices is censored in our news. We get to see the half truth and yet like generations we are satisfied…thoda aur wish karo…absolutely correct Mr. Khan. That’s what our citizens need to do rather than bank on a bunch of cameramen and people holding mikes in front of our television. And, not forgetting writers whom we have never seen in our lives.

Before employing a servant, we ensure to check his history of four generations – double checking his credentials. But are we aware of the credentials of the people who break us news that could change our lives? I guess not.

But this is a belief…a belief of many which I wouldn’t like to break. After all, you listen to your heart and not a person who writes articles complaining about the messiahs, right? You agree, and you come back to where I ended and you don’t then you reach the point from where I started. There are no lies – there is truth and half truth, reality and fiction and then there is the devil’s advocate & the common man’s belief…

The choice was always yours & will remain yours.