Is the World in Need of Truly Great Leaders?

IS THE WORLD IN NEED OF TRULY GREAT LEADERS

By: Khelsoril Wanbe.

A country, land, community, society etc needs sincere and true leaders who are in possession of long vision and unswerving and unselfish commitment to the cause of the people they stand for. History has been witness to some great leaders in different nations of the world. Some outstanding names of the world may include Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr, Nelson Mandela, Yasser Arafat, Winston Churchill etc and the list can go on for some length. Irrespective of the size of the country, state and community a leader/leaders too are needed. In order to succeed in any pursuit or goal, a society, country or state needs a good leader. A true leader has to be different in outlook and character from ordinary common men. He has to be morally upright and free from self-centeredness- in other words, it is not easy to be a true leader.

There are leaders galore in the world, but true leaders are few! The quality of true leadership must be a God-given gift which ordinary people do not possess. Perhaps, many people want to be leaders, but few actually have the true quality. Looking at some of the greatest leaders the world has known, we find some characteristics common in all of them! Welfare and assertion of the rights of the nation, land or community they stand for are some of their chief concerns that they powerfully demonstrate in their words and actions. We may sometimes ask whether a nation or a land really needs a leader or leaders; what has been demonstrated by human societies and history is that the answer is positive; they (leaders) indeed are indispensable for the success and attainment of goals and dreams of a land and people. A country, a society or let’s say an army without proper leadership, cannot achieve or attain any goal or dream or victory.

True leaders possess extraordinary eyes, ears, minds, mouths etc ­– they can see and perceive the needs of the people they stand for, they can hear and listen to their complaints, needs and criticisms, they can think and consider matters sincerely, they can say the right and the needed words of encouragement and admonition etc. If the leaders happen to be blind, deaf and dumb, they probably cannot be regarded as true leaders, even though they may consider themselves the otherwise!

True leaders are generally loved and fondly remembered even long after they pass away. As a matter of fact, their worth seem to increase even more long after they are gone and their true greatness is often found not in the power, fame and fortune they had earned, but rather in the sacrifice that they had made with all meekness and selflessness! The fact that great leaders sometimes lose their lives in the hands of their enemies, within or without, does not in any way diminish their greatness; they rather become martyrs in the hearts and mind of those for whom they lived and sacrificed their lives! The world has seen very few true leaders who sincerely and unselfishly work for the welfare of their people. Perhaps, there are some land and countries which are not fortunate enough to have true leaders worth the name. In such country or land, confusion, corruption, starvation, poverty and misery of all kinds prevail.

As the name implies a true leader or let’s simply say a leader is supposed to guide and lead the common people in the right way. They have to act as role models; they have to set examples for the people to follow. Again, the fact that true leaders are few in number should not be an excuse for leaders-political, religious, social, community- to not to try to become one. The world seems to be increasingly in need of good leaders, in other words, the demand for good leaders is ever on the rise.

More and more leaders need to be produced, if a country or land wants to progress and move forward. But the danger is that if many individuals of a country, nation or land aspire to be the leader without possessing the true quality of one, the common people are in the very likelihood of experiencing a lot of suffering and hardship. If the leaders happen to be unscrupulous and unprincipled, the people he leads and guides can expect nothing but suffering, misery and confusion. A true leader has to understand the needs, dreams and aspirations of the people, and very importantly the leader has to guide and lead the people in the right direction by setting good example. A leader cannot be regarded as a good or true leader if he leads the people in a corrupted and unprincipled way of life.

Now what could be the answer if we ask the question as to whether India or Bharat has seen some true and great leaders in the recent time? Perhaps a difficult one to answer! Taking into consideration few of the great leaders like Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Atul Bihari Vajpayee, and Abdul Kalam and so on, we are tempted to give the answer as “yes.” But opinion in this regard may differ! One needs to be free from political attachment, allegiance or prejudice in order to come out with the right answer. As a matter of fact, the personalities just mentioned here undoubtedly possess good degree of greatness that is very rare to find.

Hopefully, we’re going to see more such leaders in the near future not only in the country but in our state and land too; peace, love, harmony and prosperity will then prevail throughout the land. This sure must be the dream and aspiration of the millions who are still groping in the dark to find the way out of the tunnel.