We need to produce powerful leaders, who have the qualities of clear thinking, decisiveness and courage of conviction
In normal times, leadership is generally discussed only in terms of governance and influencing a large chunk of people to a particular way of thinking. In this century, we have missed producing leaders in social and spiritual fields, who see human beings as a part of a larger cosmic ecosystem. Right now, the world needs leaders who can visualise ways to find solutions to everybody’s needs and problems. Mahatma Gandhi, who was the source of inspiration for freedom from colonialism for millions in the world and who used to say, “The world has enough for everyone’s needs, but not everyone’s greed”, was one such world leader of the last century. Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Junior were among the other luminaries who are remembered for providing leadership for ending apartheid in South Africa and civil liberties in America, respectively.
Many believe that it was the reckless killing of live animals like bats and snakes in China’s hotels/restaurants that led to the transmission of the Coronavirus to humans. And now, the world is collectively paying the price for this unsatiated greed for animal meat from non-traditional sources and for disturbing nature’s balance. The Coronavirus is reminding humanity that “howsoever, small I may be, I can play havoc with your lives and prove your science helpless in dealing with me.” This outbreak is also an indication that nature has its own way of striking an equilibrium among the different components of the ecosystem. Nature cannot be taken lightly because in the past it has banished highly-evolved civilisations like the Indus Valley, Mesopotamian, Egyptian and so on.
The pandemic and the resultant global lockdown have thrown up some challenges to the present civilisation to act and think of providing new leadership to the world which is in harmony with nature and the cosmic world. We should, therefore, also see some of the positives that have come out of this outbreak and learn lessons from this. Any adverse situation always brings some opportunity for leaders to rise to the occasion and devise new policies and strategies and the Corona crisis has also given us some food for positive thought. The first positive is its impact on the environment. Even the most polluted cities like Delhi are now clean and people are breathing fresh air after a long time. Even the countryside has been rejuvenated and the tops of the Himalayan ranges are now visible from far and wide. There has been a resurgence in wildlife and animals are coming into urban and rural human settlements all over the world, reminding us how selfishly we have behaved and cornered all the space and resources of the world for ourselves. All our rivers, including the dying Yamuna and Ganga, have become crystal clean.
More significantly, today we are united as a nation. Indian citizens have shown unprecedented unity — barring a few instances that were sparked out of sheer desperation for survival — to fight this. The bureaucracy and civil society are working together like never before. We have also discovered that Indians have better immunity and this has left the world scientific community puzzled. It could be due to our food habits, innoculations, culture and so on. We are going back to our roots like never before and our ancient Ayurvedic prescriptions are coming back in use for immunity boosting.
Governments the world over must treat this as an opportunity for establishing a world which is in harmony with nature’s fundamental values of respecting all living and non-living forms. We must collectively try and bring the world’s precious ecosystems back to normal in consonance with our own sustainable development goals and those set by the United Nations for the world to follow.
All good leaders should think that way and give able leadership in this difficult time. However, let us think of producing new leaders by using the present synergy the world and our country has achieved. We must rewrite the norms of governance, social fibre and spiritual attainment. Let us evolve into a balanced, peaceful society marching ahead silently in harmony with nature and the cosmos. We need to produce effective and powerful leaders in all fields, who have the much-needed qualities of clear thinking, decisiveness, courage of conviction, tolerance for dissent, passion, humility and compassion.
The future leaders should equip themselves with facts about what they are in-charge of and then prepare an action plan with the involvement of all stakeholders. One of the most important attributes of a leader is that s/he must be positive in his/her approach and create a team to execute his/her plan, particularly during a crisis. S/he must lead from the front, not panic in the face of adversity nor allow others to panic.
S/he should always be in touch with the people and the outside world and keep all in good perspective and motivated. As an old saying goes, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” George Bernhard Shaw once said, “A life spent making mistakes is not only more honourable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.” No matter what, leaders make mistakes down the road but they learn from them. They must show decisive leadership skills and be remembered for their deeds. New India must produce such leaders.
(The writer is a retired civil servant)
