Skip to main content

Can political leaders serve people and be remembered by people after their death?

By Sudhansu R Das 

Hundreds of political leaders have come and gone; nobody remembers them. Those who have sacrificed and contributed to build the country are always remembered even after their deaths. Political career gives an opportunity to a leader to live in the hearts of people even after his death. Seva through politics in a democratic country is one of the best professions in the world. Leaders who come to serve people acquire immense power which comes from the people only. Winning elections is not important. Winning the hearts of people through seva is better than winning elections through freebies.
Political aspirants should learn to walk and reach people. Walking and meeting people should be converted into a routine activity for the young political aspirants. The more you walk the more you become rich with experience and knowledge; popularity will come automatically. In the mythologies, Lord Rama walked in the forest, hills and villages for 14 years to be a noble king; he experienced the problems of his subjects; he came to know the ground reality. Lord Rama used to move in disguise to know the real condition of the common man. He used to eradicate the corrupt and sycophant adhikaris from the system with ruthless accuracy. 
Nobody was near and dear to him in the governance mechanism; the perfect Rajdharma had kept his people and his kingdom above personal interest. His method was followed by great kings and monarchs in the later period. Only the honest, strong and the brave Khetriya power had the capacity to do away with the sycophants courtiers who have polluted the economy, society and many political parties. The aspiring politicians should learn to detect the honest and loyal followers from the group of sycophants. Regular padyatra to meet people will give a mirror view of the sycophants who cook spurious data and feed it to their masters regularly.
The aspiring young leaders should make a profile of every village and urban center which will help them understand what are the specific infrastructures required for the people. They should work to protect and preserve the natural infrastructures like rivers, lakes, ponds, hills and forests in their region. The Pandavas walked for 13 years to eliminate the corrupt and the tyrants from the country to establish good governance. The warrior sage, Parshuram stalked the earth for 21 times to weed out the corrupt kings and their followers. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi walked for 79,000 km between 1914 to 1948 to become a mass leader; he gave India a Swadeshi Model of development which is still relevant for the entire world.
Young and educated politicians should walk to know the ground reality which will be a Brahmastra in the battle for good governance. They may not be able to give freebies to people, but they can give people the permanent solution to address the basic human needs. For example if people of a locality can save a natural lake, it will feed and generate income for thousands of local people.
If the political aspirants dive deep into the relevant issues related to basic human needs, they will come out with grass root level knowledge to pin the most powerful political opponents. The hazardous roads, rain flood, polluted air, contaminated water, adulterated food and the poor drainage system in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai, Cuttack, Kanpur, New Delhi and in scores of urban centers can bring victory to many young leaders. Unfortunately many young leaders do not walk nor do they have the will to serve people. They fail to come out of the shadows of the supremos.
The long presence of father, son, grand son, great grandson and the supremos in political parties has adversely affected the leadership growth. No leader should hold the top post of any political party for more than five years. They should willingly retire to make room for young leaders in the party.
Government employees, lawyers, doctors, professors, IT professionals, media people and teachers etc who are retired should contest election. Democracy in India desperately needs them; they need to rescue democracy from the vote bank politics. The thought of taking rest after retirement should be erased from their minds because rest will never come unless they build a healthy society around them. This is high time for the good, educated and courageous people to give a plunge into the political water.

Comments

TRENDING

Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan raises concerns over Jharkhand Adivasis' plight in Assam, BJP policies

By Our Representative  The Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan (Save Democracy Campaign) has issued a pressing call to protect Adivasi rights in Jharkhand, highlighting serious concerns over the treatment of Jharkhandi Adivasis in Assam. During a press conference in Ranchi on November 9, representatives from Assam, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh criticized the current approach of BJP-led governments in these states, arguing it has exacerbated Adivasi struggles for rights, land, and cultural preservation.

Promoting love or instilling hate and fear: Why is RSS seeking a meeting with Rahul Gandhi?

By Ram Puniyani*  India's anti-colonial struggle was marked by a diverse range of social movements, one of the most significant being Hindu-Muslim unity and the emergence of a unified Indian identity among people of all religions. The nationalist, anti-colonial movement championed this unity, best embodied by Mahatma Gandhi, who ultimately gave his life for this cause. Gandhi once wrote, “The union that we want is not a patched-up thing but a union of hearts... Swaraj (self-rule) for India must be an impossible dream without an indissoluble union between the Hindus and Muslims of India. It must not be a mere truce... It must be a partnership between equals, each respecting the religion of the other.”

A Marxist intellectual who dwelt into complex areas of the Indian socio-political landscape

By Harsh Thakor*  Professor Manoranjan Mohanty has been a dedicated advocate for human rights over five decades. His work as a scholar and activist has supported revolutionary democratic movements, navigating complex areas of the Indian socio-political landscape. His balanced, non-partisan approach to human rights and social justice has made his books essential resources for advocates of democracy.

Four J&K MLAs visit Wular lake, pledge support to fisher community, environmental conservation

By Shamim Ahmed*   In a historic meeting that highlighted both environmental and social concerns, four Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) visited Wular Lake to meet with the fisherfolk community, signaling a significant step in addressing their longstanding issues. This gathering, organized with the support of dedicated advocates, marks a strengthening of efforts to both safeguard the lake’s ecosystem and support the community’s welfare.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Supreme Court’s dismissal of PIL on Covid vaccine safety is counter to known science and mathematics

By Bhaskaran Raman*  On 14 Oct 2024, the Supreme Court of India dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on the side-effects of the Covid vaccine. In 2021, the world saw the rollout of various Covid vaccine candidates. In India, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and Serum Institute of India’s Covishield were rolled out. Covishield was nothing but Oxford’s AstraZeneca relabelled in India. The importance of open-minded and scientific probe of Covid vaccine safety In 2020/2021, all Covid vaccines were authorized for emergency use, which meant that the necessary efficacy and safety follow-up was incomplete at that time. The originally approved trials – called randomised controlled trials (RCT) had a “vaccine” group and a “placebo” group for comparison. Such experimental comparison/control is the cornerstone of the scientific method – which even children learn in photosynthesis experiments in class-1. The vaccine trials were scheduled to conclude in late 2022/early 2023. For instance, Covax...

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah  The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Right-arm fast bowler who helped West Indies shape arguably greatest Test team in cricket history

By Harsh Thakor*  Malcolm Marshall redefined what it meant to be a right-arm fast bowler, challenging the traditional laws of biomechanics with his unique skill. As we remember his 25th death anniversary on November 4th, we reflect on the legacy he left behind after his untimely death from colon cancer. For a significant part of his career, Marshall was considered one of the fastest and most formidable bowlers in the world, helping to shape the West Indies into arguably the greatest Test team in cricket history.

Will Left victory in Sri Lanka deliver economic sovereignty plan, go beyond 'tired' IMF agenda?

By Atul Chandra, Vijay Prashad*  On September 22, 2024, the Sri Lankan election authority announced that Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) alliance won the presidential election. Dissanayake, who has been the leader of the left-wing JVP since 2014, defeated 37 other candidates, including the incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party (UNP) and his closest challenger Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya. 

Unlike other revolutionaries, Hindutva icon wrote 5 mercy petitions to British masters

By Shamsul Islam*  The Hindutva icon VD Savarkar of the RSS-BJP rulers of India submitted not one, two,or three but five mercy petitions to the British masters! Savarkarites argue: “There are no evidences to prove that Savarkar collaborated with the British for his release from jail. In fact, his appeal for release was a ruse. He was well aware of the political developments outside and wanted to be part of it. So he kept requesting for his release. But the British authorities did not trust him a bit” (YD Phadke, ‘A complex Hero’, "The Indian Expres"s, August 31, 2004)