The Moving Finger Writes We need national leaders
July 10, 2025
  • Read Ecopy
  • Circulation
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
Organiser
  • ‌
  • Bharat
    • Assam
    • Bihar
    • Chhattisgarh
    • Jharkhand
    • Maharashtra
    • View All States
  • World
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • North America
    • South America
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Global Commons
  • Editorial
  • International
  • Opinion
  • Op Sindoor
  • More
    • Analysis
    • Sports
    • Defence
    • RSS in News
    • Politics
    • Business
    • Economy
    • Culture
    • Special Report
    • Sci & Tech
    • Entertainment
    • G20
    • Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav
    • Vocal4Local
    • Web Stories
    • Education
    • Employment
    • Books
    • Interviews
    • Travel
    • Law
    • Health
    • Obituary
    • Podcast
MAGAZINE
  • ‌
  • Bharat
    • Assam
    • Bihar
    • Chhattisgarh
    • Jharkhand
    • Maharashtra
    • View All States
  • World
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • North America
    • South America
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Global Commons
  • Editorial
  • International
  • Opinion
  • Op Sindoor
  • More
    • Analysis
    • Sports
    • Defence
    • RSS in News
    • Politics
    • Business
    • Economy
    • Culture
    • Special Report
    • Sci & Tech
    • Entertainment
    • G20
    • Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav
    • Vocal4Local
    • Web Stories
    • Education
    • Employment
    • Books
    • Interviews
    • Travel
    • Law
    • Health
    • Obituary
    • Podcast
Organiser
  • Home
  • Bharat
  • World
  • Operation Sindoor
  • Editorial
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Culture
  • Defence
  • International Edition
  • RSS in News
  • Magazine
  • Read Ecopy
Home General

The Moving Finger Writes We need national leaders

by Archive Manager
Jun 5, 2011, 12:00 am IST
in General
FacebookTwitterWhatsAppTelegramEmail

BY and large the results of the elections to the respective state legislatures of Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala had been expected and there was hardly any surprise. In West Bengal the demise of the Leftists was inevitable. In the first place they had been in power for too long. In the second place Mamata Banerjee proved to be an excellent street fighter who could meet Leftists on their own grounds, in the third place communism as an ideology had long lost its lustre and the time had come for it to die a natural death.

Lastly, arrogance and failure to meet peasant poverty had done it in. Didi was only an instrument of time, stern huntsman. But she would, however, do well to remember that even in defeat the Leftist forces had won 41 per cent of the votes – a fact that cannot be ignored. Not only has Mamata a job of assuring good government, she has an additional duty to wean these 41 per cent left-leaning voters from their fading legacy and thereby cleanse West Bengal of an alien ideology. She can also do equally well to realise that it was not she that won, but the Leftists who defeated themselves.

It was much the same in Tamil Nadu. It was not Jayalalithaa that won. It was the DMK that went all the way to commit suicide by its arrogance, deep rooted corruption and venality, and culture of dynastic patronage stifling the state’s public institutions. As in West Bengal, so in Tamil Nadu, the tired voter had only one option: the Trinamul in West Bengal, the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu. One additional thing in favour of both the ladies who won is that they are single. After them it’s the party they lead that would count, not a son or daughter to assume automatic leadership. But there is something disturbing about the elections. National parties like the Congress and the BJP are not making any showing, in the states which are becoming highly region or state-centric. Neither Sonia Gandhi nor Rahul mattered, except in Assam where the voice of the Congress continues to prevail.

Rahul had hand-picked and fielded 41 Youth Congress candidates across five states and campaigned for them in a total of 15 rallies. But with poor results. Only 15 of them won, Assam topping the list with seven. Is the rise of regional parties at the cost of national parties good for the country? It may be argued that India is a democracy and the rise of regionalism is only to be expected. But what if regionalism leads to separatism? The very concept of DMK that somehow Dravidians are a separate people calls for deep introspection. When Shiv Sena leaders insist that Maharashtra is for Maharashtrians, one must wake up. Such concepts are damaging to the ultimate unity of the country and must be treated as such. The Tamilians will not only do themselves proud but will do the country itself a great favour if they bid goodbye to ethnicism. The narrow concept of cultural separatism has to be shunned in toto. Linguistic chauvinism can be even worse. It must be fought tooth and nail. Presently, the tribe of national leaders is slowly dying. LK Advani is probably the last of the lot. The point must be noted. For years Jawaharlal Nehru filled the slot. He was followed by Indira Gandhi and later, in an acceptable sense by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. But fancy what happened in the turbulent post-Rajiv Gandhi years when non-entities like Deve Gowda, IK Gujral and VP Singh stepped into the Prime Ministerial throne to make a laughing stock of themselves? We need national leaders to give us a strength of oneness. Today all that we have are Jayalalithaas, Mamatas and their likes elsewhere. Who would come to listen to Jayalalithaa in Punjab or Jharkhand? For that matter would she draw an audience even in Tamil Nadu’s neighbouring states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala?

Tarun Gogoi, the Ahomia-for-all-seasons is hardly known beyond Assam’s borders, even when he has set a record of sorts by winning three state elections in sequence. Think of others like Yeddyurappa, Prithviraj Chavan, Nitish Kumar or Narendra Modi. Of them all, only Modi has a national face, but for all the wrong reasons. Nitish Kumar did not even want him to step into Bihar to address election audiences. Can Jagmohan Reddy become a national leader? After all, he has created a record of sorts in a by-election in Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency, by winning by a huge margon. One often hears the optimistic note that the times will find the right leaders.

After all, it is asked, how many had heard of Barack Obama in the United States until he staked a claim for the nation’s presidentship? Or, for that matter, even in India how many were familiar with the name of Pratibhadevi Patil until she won the country’s presidentship? Fair enough, but do we have to wait for emergencies to get a leader of national standing? In pre-independence days there were any number of national leaders; even Lal Bahadur Shastri, for long an unknown face became a national figure following India’s victory in a war with Pakistan. But even then he was living under the shadow of Nehru. The presence of national leaders provide the ordinary people with a sense of assurance and security that somebody is there to look up to. The British people solved that problem a long time ago: they have a monarchy. India does not need a monarchy, but it is time all political parties give this issue some attention. National leaders don’t grow on trees, to be plucked in times of need or distress. They have always to be there, up front, to provide the right kind of leadership and be a source of strength. How one wishes people like Narayanamurthy or Ratan Tata make themselves available to lead the nation! If there is one lesson that the recent assembly elections have given to the country, it is that we need national – in contrast to regional – leaders more than ever. It is a call to all political parties but more especially to two of the leading parties, the Congress and the BJP. The message is: Create national leaders, as much for their own good as for the good of the country.

ShareTweetSendShareSend
✮ Subscribe Organiser YouTube Channel. ✮
✮ Join Organiser's WhatsApp channel for Nationalist views beyond the news. ✮
Previous News

Obituary MSN Menon, Organiser columnist is no more

Next News

Third Year RSS camp in Nagpur

Related News

Representative Image of Maoists

Chhattisgarh: Major success for security forces as 12 Maoists surrender before police in Dantewada

From Campus to Cabinet: How ABVP groomed Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Rekha Gupta, Yogi Adityanath & other such leaders

A representative image: courtesy NDTV

Amid electoral roll revision in Bihar, ECI reaffirms commitment to universal adult suffrage

ABVP Foundation Day celebrations

Inspiring Journey of 77 Years of ABVP: The slogan of ‘Students’ Power, Nation’s Power’ resonated all across the country

2025 tour marks the first visit of Prime Minister Modi to Namibia and the third-ever by an Indian PM to the country

Five Nation Tour: Modi begins Namibia state visit, gets highest honour, signs four key bilateral agreements

11 Years of Modi Government: A decade of Viksit Bharat journey

Load More

Comments

The comments posted here/below/in the given space are not on behalf of Organiser. The person posting the comment will be in sole ownership of its responsibility. According to the central government's IT rules, obscene or offensive statement made against a person, religion, community or nation is a punishable offense, and legal action would be taken against people who indulge in such activities.

Latest News

Representative Image of Maoists

Chhattisgarh: Major success for security forces as 12 Maoists surrender before police in Dantewada

From Campus to Cabinet: How ABVP groomed Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Rekha Gupta, Yogi Adityanath & other such leaders

A representative image: courtesy NDTV

Amid electoral roll revision in Bihar, ECI reaffirms commitment to universal adult suffrage

ABVP Foundation Day celebrations

Inspiring Journey of 77 Years of ABVP: The slogan of ‘Students’ Power, Nation’s Power’ resonated all across the country

2025 tour marks the first visit of Prime Minister Modi to Namibia and the third-ever by an Indian PM to the country

Five Nation Tour: Modi begins Namibia state visit, gets highest honour, signs four key bilateral agreements

11 Years of Modi Government: A decade of Viksit Bharat journey

Telangana: Bhadrachalam temple EO attacked by villagers while inspecting illegal encroachments on temple lands

Telangana: Bhadrachalam temple EO attacked by villagers while inspecting illegal encroachments on temple lands

A balak ashram school at Chhindar in Dantewada

“No school without a teacher”: Chhattisgarh govt achieves 80 percent reduction in single-teacher schools

Representative Image

Critical theory: A New Division of Cultural Marxism

Representative Image

From Sanskar to Character and Nation Building; Fulfilling duties & responsibilities

  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Cookie Policy
  • Refund and Cancellation
  • Delivery and Shipping

© Bharat Prakashan (Delhi) Limited.
Tech-enabled by Ananthapuri Technologies

  • Home
  • Search Organiser
  • Bharat
    • Assam
    • Bihar
    • Chhattisgarh
    • Jharkhand
    • Maharashtra
    • View All States
  • World
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • North America
    • South America
    • Europe
    • Australia
    • Global Commons
  • Editorial
  • Operation Sindoor
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Defence
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Business
  • RSS in News
  • Entertainment
  • More ..
    • Sci & Tech
    • Vocal4Local
    • Special Report
    • Education
    • Employment
    • Books
    • Interviews
    • Travel
    • Health
    • Politics
    • Law
    • Economy
    • Obituary
    • Podcast
  • Subscribe Magazine
  • Read Ecopy
  • Advertise
  • Circulation
  • Careers
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Policies & Terms
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Refund and Cancellation
    • Terms of Use

© Bharat Prakashan (Delhi) Limited.
Tech-enabled by Ananthapuri Technologies