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How Does A Leader Impact The Destiny Of His Country?

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A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way.

  • John c. Maxwell.

Leaders are the torch bearers for their respective fraternity, acting as a friend, philosopher and guide for all.

“when the word leader strikes the mind, the image that appears is of a person standing on a raised platform, surrounded by people all around, listening to his words carefully to be able to abide by the instructions.”

This leader may be adorned or simply dressed but one thing is certain that he is definitely adorned with great caliber, vision and foresightedness, feeling of empathy and welfare for people.

Many leaders in this real world exactly fits into this definition – like mahatma Gandhi, Nehru, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, martin Luther, Barak Obama, Nelson Mandela etc. However, it does not mean that politics is the only source of producing good leaders. Leaders may range from different fields and different walks of life. In the world of technological revolution, Steves Jobbs, Mark Zuckerberg in the field of social media revolution, Grate Thunberg in environment concerns, Mother Teresa in field of service to mankind, Kailash Satyarthi in abolishing child labour, and numerous others. They all are leaders and impact the destiny of the country in one or the other way.

All leaders have a few things in common i.e. 4Es- Envision, Enable, Empower, Energize. Every leader has a vision like mahatma Gandhi had of a non-violent, peaceful or harmonious society with self-controlled individuals. He enabled masses through empowering ways like self-sufficient villages, charkha, labour, sarvadharma- sambhav to keep them energized until the goal is achieved.

In present times Modi, engage the masses through various initiatives like Swachh Bharat Abhiyan etc. Even during COVID-19 induced lockdown, he consistently gives tasks like lighting up lamps, clapping and expressing “Abhaar” to express unity, gratitude towards frontline fighters of COVID. This also drives out depression and builds up trust among masses.

India has been an ardent supporter of ideas of democracy, non-proliferation, world peace and universal brotherhood. India believes in the oneness of all human race across the world, sharing the same spirit of Vasudev Kutumbakam and Atithi devo bhava. All these values have been reinstated timelessly by leaders across the time frames- Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Gandhi, J.L. Nehru, Indira Gandhi or Modi, carrying it as the culture of Indian society.

This land is also known for scientific discoveries and revolutions by leaders in respective fields like Vikram Sarabhai, Bhabha, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, and mathematician like Ramanujan, etc. They all together shaped the destiny of the country which today is emerging as the leader of the world.

Not only in India, there are leaders like sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh, Benjamin Netanhu of Israel who initiated the revolution of progress and prosperity in their countries, despite the ugly imprints of past.

Whereas there exist instances of notorious leaders deforming the destiny of their countries like Hitler of Germany, Saddam Hussain of Iraq and lately Imran khan of Pakistan – not being able to properly utilize and direct the energies of people into right direction for right purposes. This resulted in failure of economies, creation of their motherland into terrorist breeding grounds, concentration camps for Yehudi, stigma of racial impurity, discrimination, decline in prosperity, corruption, growing crimes, etc. The autocratic leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un is known for his atrocities and erratic decisions, keeping the lives of the people at stake and forcing them to live in the state of constant fear of death.

As often mentioned in Indian shastras, that leaders are the Shrestha persons, the elite of the society. Whatever values and work ethics, a leader practice, are adopted by their followers. Hence, good leaders are those who help others grow towards infinite perfection and joy.

Even Gandhian philosophy teaches lessons to be imbibed by modern leaders i.e.,- leadership by example, humanistic approach , conflict resolution by passionate leaders, oneness of whole universe, discipline, attitude of sacrifice, fulfilling the expectation of justice for the people and in the end, reflecting the same values back in the society so as to create more prospective leaders in future.

As,” the greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one who gets the people to do the greatest things.

– Ronald Reagan.

-Priyanka Singh

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