The Missing Monarch...

leader  (ˈliːdə)
— noun
	a person who rules, guides, or inspires

In 1857, a leaderless India went up in arms against an unruly regime. In a distant land, an unperturbed queen in her high halls took notice a little too late. Till then the company fighting factions of small leaders recklessly spilled blood on the streets. Delhi was razed to ground as the emperor, the last king of India ordained by destiny, watched on - powerless,  defeated and irrelevant.

Three incidents have drifted me to write this after a longish pause of 1 year. First - Clinton's speech in the 2012 primary. Second- the brutal assault of a young girl in Delhi and the ensuing agitation. And third - Sachin Tendulkar's announcement to retire from the ODI

.

"In the defense forces, what do you think it takes for men be always ready to die for a cause?" asked the retired Kargil veteran turned HR Head of a company that visited my college for placements. As the floor went about guessing at reasons like love for the nation, or glory of the job or accountability, the veteran smilingly revealed - its their leader! The leader who makes them understand the value of their sacrifice, the leader who understands their fears and their motivations and their dreams and their frustrations. Who reaches out to them and make them believe that in spite of all their weaknesses and setbacks, they can achieve their goals! Above all the leader who really communicates with them.

A leader must communicate. Leave his followers with misty eyes, make them stand and ask for change. Clinton' s 50 mins monologue reminds us how whats true for a leader in the army is just as true for the people they defend. I am not an American patriot, nor am I a hardcore democrat, but if you want to see how a leader can move his people, touch the proverbial cord, and how badly we, in India, need someone who can speak for us, you've got to watch this clip.

Opportunities have presented themselves for those applying for India's leadership job. Agitation against corruption. The latest protests against assaults on women. On all of these occasions hordes of people - confused on what they want, clueless about how their demands will be achieved, have gathered on the streets only to be greeted with lathis, tear shells and disappointments. Mostly, undeserving men have tried to take quick advantage of the situation. Don't take me wrong. I don't call them undeserving men because they are any lesser. But because most of them have simply lacked the vision to understand how society would evolve. Their shallow hopes are too conspicuous for an honest educated middle class Indian to follow them. And on all occasions none except a handful of people have taken their lead.

For 6 days now, the streets of Delhi are filled with mobs - none of them looking beyond the here and now. All of them demanding death penalty for the perpetrators of this crime as if that would solve their problems. And not a single applicant for the high job has come out to guide them. Tell them that everything is relative in the society and that one ordinance can have several other repercussions  That it has to be a slow guided process towards a better world. And it would take years and years of efforts one step at a time. Probably starting with a harsh punishment. Rome wasn't built in a day.

The analogies are remarkable. The high queen is still in her abode giving audience only when she deems fit. Her ordained king is a great man himself- but clearly a misfit as a leader of men. And the country is slowly but steadily passing on to a confused bedlam.

The frustration on the streets is not a worthless hooligan energy. much can be achieved by channelizing this force into usable action. What we lack is a direction to this confused mass. And that, before it turns into a bloody game it became in 1857.

In the midst of all this, the legendary Sachin R Tendulkar has declared his retirement from the ODI. Not that its related. But I still haven't been able to completely absorb this news. Probably more on that a bit later.