Tumse na ho paega!

The oxford dictionary defines ‘lead’ as ‘to show (someone/something) the way to a destination by going in front of or beside them’. The object/person who executes this action is termed as a ‘Leader’. We must observe the vitality of going in front of or beside the masses, as it distinguishes them from a self-proclaimed leader, who misses the very nuance of leading. Every person has admirers who may position them to the stature f a leader irrespective of his quality to actually take the baton and walk in the front row or alongside others. We must not confuse ourselves between popularity and leadership. A leader is always popular but reverse is not always true.

When it comes to the origin of leaders, different schools of thought point out different explanations. Some opine that leaders are child prodigies while others say that leaders can be manufactured. While no one trained Mahatma Gandhi to lead Indians on the path of non-violence, Chanakya was supposed to play the pivotal role in shaping Chandragupta Maurya’s career in being a commoner to a great ruler in ancient India.

My concern is not about any of the above said categories. I am more vexed about the third one, which claims that leadership quality constitutes a major portion of their blood and flows along with it and that their genes carry this quality to lead the other lesser mortal souls who were not fortunate enough to have been born with a silver spoon in their mouth. They still believe in the older version of monarchy in which reins passed on to their heirs unless the quality became unbearable. But the sad part is that this system is followed in democracy as well, with a twisted game plan. This democratic monarchy is a monster which can gobble even the most prosperous nation.

India is no different in suffering dorm this pandemic. Move to any part of this country, which took away freedom from an imperialistic British regime, you can come across the dynastic politics being spread like water in the floods. Some of them may turn out to be a good leader but the majority has simply put their Daddy’s shoes, whether it fits them or not. My heart is coercing my fingers to type as many names as possible but the mind suddenly commands my little finger to delete ‘names’. They are not be blamed. We Indians have not yet come out of the dynastic rule that has been ruling us for centuries and millenniums.

I will narrate a simple story which shall relate to somebody but it will just be coincidental. There is this man whose father died when he was young; he left him an enormous empire to rule; he has been struggling to cope up; when the situation demands the most, he goes for a hibernation leaving others to tackle. He is not batman but one of a very influential person in India. Holding a post of second-in command of the glorious and oldest political wing, he still thinks he can do whatever he wishes to and no one will give a damn. The parliament session was round the corner and he decided to go on a holiday. According to PRS India, a research organization presents a dismal view of his performance in the parliament. While the national average of attendance is 81%, he attended only 49%; when national average on debate is 13.2, he held just one; while average question being asked is 56, he asked none. There are many other accounts which clearly mention his disenchantment from this job. Rightly so – he is Rahul Gandhi.

When most of your supporters are looking for a spark in you which you have yet not been able to demonstrate, you give away the chance to shine by shunning away from an important session. You took a charge for UP election in 2012, and lost badly. The 2014 national election was conducted to coronate you the prime-minister of India, but your performance was so pathetic that your party achieved the worst failure till date. Kudos! The way Mr. Gandhi alienated himself from the crucial budget session by taking a self-announced break from god-knows-what important work and went to God-knows-what place, it paints a picture of him stuck in a wrong job. Your sycophants leave no stone unturned to put you on top of every success and take the blame for all the failure, that it actually make you believe that you had no role in Congress’s defeat and non but only you took the party to the zenith.

Mr. Gandhi, a very simple advice to you. You are 44 years old and you can actually go after the career of your choice and you can still make a respectable future. Politics is not you cup of tea. The slight beard and folded sleeve neither makes you a macho, nor a seasoned orator. Neither does the drama of having a glass of water in poor man’s house make you a representative of a common man.

 Enough of this drama. Okay, you really want to make it big in politics; then start doing things right. Take commands in your hand instead of running away. Mother won’t be there forever. Sycophants may start pinching you slowly (slowly few words of resentment have already been heard). In words of Ramadhir singh of GOW “Apne khetra me jao, karyakartao ko motivation do”. Otherwise “Tumse na ho paega”