THE LEADERS THAT WERE

-HOW OUR COUNTRY FORMIDABLY LACKS WHAT MUST BE

It’s the dawn of a new era as the Indian national flag flutters proudly over the clear blue horizon, a raring beacon of hope on the advancing 66^th year of national independence. The glorious past is now embedded in the citizens’ minds as intricately as a beautiful folk lore; two centuries of struggle in a gist, which if asked to re-iterate, a common Indian would state mere 40% correctly. The tireless struggle to claim the birthright of every Bharatiya over the motherland seems very much like the ill-gotten remains of a magnificent couture brought to a great fall, lying dormant in remains waiting for the right patron to arrive and dig out the history. This lust is insatiable as the descendants of the heroes must dedicate themselves to the consequent realms of a free nation, participating extensively in all its corrupt practices, war, riots, every kind of violence imaginable. An enthusiast may rise every now and then to raise the ugly questions, “Where’s the passion? Where’s the loyalty? Where’s thy love for motherland?” the answer is deafening silence mingled with the following questions: What is the enthusiast on? Which drug is strong enough to set afresh memories of love long forgotten and dead almost as soon as the independence was achieved? What rotten, twisted, ancient, foolishly idealistic individual seeks nation before self? Plain drama it is! Severely attention-seeking behavior!!

It was the 7^th century when the Golden Bird first faced foreign attack as brought on by Muhammad Bin Qasim and by the end of the next century the roots of foreign emperors had strengthened and their cruel ambitions fiercely fueled by the conquests of Multan and Sindh, laying path for some of the bloodiest chapters of Indian history. Gradually, the entire Indian sub-continent with the exceptions of the present day Himachal Pradesh, Nepal, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Bhutan, fell in the hands of Mughal rulers. The frequent brawls and petty power struggles amongst the Rajput rulers led the Sultans on to further empower their territories while making sure that no significant rebellion against these tyrants was ever taken up. Jealousy took the better of Daulat Khan Lodi, the then governor of Lahore and the ruler of Mewar, Rana Sanga as they invited Babur to attack the principal army of Ibrahim Lodi. The mighty rulers of the Delhi Sultanate were overthrown in a battle of power so tyrannous that it left little to the imagination. After the Battle of Panipat, Babur reigned supreme. The belittled Rana Sanga and Daulat Khan, who had fathomed Babur’s departure in succession of his mighty conquest, were given important positions in what was to become a foreign rule where the Badshah planned to set roots in a foreign land and alter the course of history forever.

The later Mughuls were, in many ways, everything that their ancestors weren’t. Rulers with extremely low self-esteem who lacked control and failed to command respect from the subjects, were easily enticed by a monarchy which lured them into a slothful slumber and in turn, demanded power for the Queen. Now, the golden bird was caged to never fly again. The establishment of the East India Company and its rapid expansion was the consequence of the honey-trap that was carefully placed to wrap the dummy rulers in its warm, embracing arms and carefully so. Pulling the wool over their eyes meant deceiving them with bountiful offerings, including ego-boosts and noteworthy praise in the memoirs of travelers. And so the last of the Mughuls lent out our motherland on lease, piece-by-piece till there were none left. The end of Bahadur Shah Zafar in Burma is proof of the loyal friends the British were.

A century of unspeakable and unforgettable totalitarianism rowed a nation to rebel.

It is when tyranny reaches zenith that leaders like Lala Lajpat rai, Bhagat Singh, Swami Vivekanand, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Chandra Shekhar Azad, Subhash Chandra Bose are created. The saga of their pristine sacrifice to achieve the impossible is legendary. Two centuries later, the independent republic of “India” was born.

The present scenario isn’t much different. How is charging thousand for a commodity worth only ten not a felony? How is the present ridiculously high rate of inflation any different from the unjustified prices during British rule? How does one justify the horrendous crimes against women as against those made by our oppressors? If the foreign rulers were accused of misusing their power, then how exactly aren’t the present-day politicians abusing their authority? While we blame the outsiders for prowling our motherland, have we ever considered what difference does it make when Indians like Kalmadi do the same? My question is: If democracy is “for the people, by the people”, then why is the world’s largest democracy behaving like a slave?

On the flip side, if the tyranny is intact so should be the rebellion. Where are the Bhagat Singhs of today? What are they doing? What shackles bind them? Why can’t the world have another Vivekanand? There has to be an unyielding reason as to why there are only politicians in India today and no leaders.

JAI HIND!