3 March 2011
New Nation, a leading daily in Bangladesh
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Where the number is one, question of germ of disagreement is irrelevant and, therefore, leadership is unworkable; where the number is two, question of germ of disagreement is relevant and, therefore, leadership is, or may be, required marginally; but where the number is three, four, five or more, germ of disagreement is significantly important and therefore, question of leadership is unavoidable resultantly. And from this emanates axiomatically and inductively that the roots of leadership lie not in the singularity, but in the plurality wherefrom starts the very music of leadership
Leadership is, in fact, the first and foremost necessity for the survival and onward march of mankind and civilization. It is, by origin, positive in nature tagged with a call of, as and when required, possibility, probability and virtual certainty of change and continuity. Commencement of any sort of deviation or sidetracking, voluntarily or involuntarily or reluctantly even , from such a reality means stepping into the boundary of erosion of leadership; the more such deviation is acute, more is the extent of decline and degradation of leadership. From this very point of view, leadership may rightly be taken into account as leadership proper and leadership improper; one is in its real form while the other being in the perverted focus, which is not at all expected of. But alas! abundance of perverted leaderships has emerged as a great concern everywhere that needs to be addressed timely and boldly.
Leadership is, realistically speaking, a coordinated, balanced blend of a person’s achievement and enrichment with a sparkling reflection of his centripetal and centrifugal charisma in the context of time, space and dimension entailing, as and when required, the domains of family, group, association, organization---- local, national , regional and international
From anatomical and non-anatomical points of view, leadership, whether the canvass is micro or macro, is for onward development, for looking forward going beyond time, centuries in the face of challenges and dilemmas. It constantly articulates, harmonizes and synthesizes science and arts; here mere mathematical calculations hardly survive and continue if it suffers from short of required standard of literary expositions and appeals; more reality is that leadership is ornamented simultaneously with opportunities and responsibilities and one can not go much more minus other; a successful leader is he who understands, realizes the issues and problems before him and ensure, to the best of his ability and capability, best possible initiatives to achieve the targets; he is poetic, but not a poet; he is romantic, but not immersed in romanticism; he does not solely stick to the water-tight make-up of vertical relations, but tends and bends also to the very art of tactful applying of horizontal approach; he is aware of his follies, mistakes and experience and know-how, technical or non-technical; he is tolerant, cautious and accommodative to others’ views and criticisms, and believes in the cycle of changes and modifications in tune with modernism and traditionalism; he prefers to be firm, responsive and responsible, committed, transparent and target-oriented; he honestly tries to maintain a safe distance from the waives of cronyism and nepotism; he is neither swept away by a violent current of the sea nor be blown up by a blast of wind; his overall integrity makes him stand with the head high in pride, not hung down in shames Therefore, a leadership inherently presupposes the existence of followers in the form of official subordinates in governmental or non-governmental organizations or workers and supporters in political or non-political arena.
Careful attention deserves to be paid to the reality that of all forms, types and categories of leaderships, leadership in politics and statecraft may rightly be considered as the most challenging, comprehensive, multi-dimensional and complicated ones; here a leader needs to hold a cavity of unique art of assimilating, aggregating and synthesizing problems and issues, old or new, broadly in national perspectives being alert and responsive to regional and international surroundings and feedbacks.; it is immaterial at whatever layer he works; his basic identity is that he thinks nationally being within the fold of a political party and he , more or less, prepares himself in that directions That’s why a political leader or statesman because of his nature of job, vision and mission ranks high locally, nationally, regionally and internationally.
Needless to utter that a country or an organization or association may better also be judged by its leader(s); here arises the question of the quality of leadership that does not come in automatically overnight; it grows, develops and swells through a kind of institutional and non-institutional processes, modes and applications and then starts radiating and smelling in a cumulative manner in various cherished directions. Books, journals, researches and related materials of different natures and folds related to the matters, theories and classifications of leadership and their applications from time to time accordingly have made such reality and realization acute and crystal clear.
Bangladesh’s State of leaderships, in various sectors covering in particular politics, legislative, executive, judicial branches and non-government organizations, bodies, corporate or non-corporate, and associations cannot be stated to be at a formidable phase. Because of rapid spread of globalization, science and technology, an inevitable storm of effects made us aware, realistic to be accommodative and responsive on the points of existence, survival and continuance as a global partner in almost all respects. Modern, up to date approaches are already on in a vibrating manner in both government and non-government compacts. March of corporate management in private sector mentionably in the fields of trade, commerce and industries is encouraging but not so much coordinated and settled for a number of reasons.
Politics and statecraft, even after passing of forty years of independence, are still miserably caught in the vicious circle of traditional model of leaderships, which has further been sharpened with the ongoing widening chasm of negative politics full of intransigence, self-gratification and confrontation of two major political parties ----Awami League led by sitting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Bangladesh Nationalist Party chaired by the Leader of the Opposition Begum Khaleda Zia. .In fact, Bangladesh under the mask of alliances has entered an era of bi-party system, but, as ill luck would have it, this very bi-party system, unlike others in the world, is the number one threat to the overall development of Bangladesh because of the politics, policies and strategies they are pursuing at the dire disregard and negation of the sacrifices and interests of the people. Nepotism, cronyism, romanticism, vested interests, mutual distrusts, rampant corruptions, disregards to institutional disciplines, showing thumbs to law and order, gradual degradation of familial and social ties, norms and values so on and so forth paved the way more broader for a foreseeable debacle.
Insertion and continuance of Non-Party, Neutral Care-Taker Government through the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Bangladesh is not all an achievement for our fledgling democracy; rather it bears a landmark testimony to our overall negative political landscape. Let us very soon also be smart enough in practice to put an end to this very ‘democracy-threatening constitutional arrangement’ and it, at the outset, needs an atmosphere of confidence-building between or among the political parties, which shall have auto-impacts on other sectors including civil societies.
Election Commission’s latest Legal reforms, during and after the ‘Historic blast of Army-backed Dr. Fakruddin’s Non-party, Neutral Care-Taker Government on the politics of Bangladesh, at least, opened a door to build, rebuild, set and reset the possible and probable bases in the political firmament of Bangladesh, but, honestly speaking; it is yet timely to be infused into the blood of our leaders. Recent elections to municipalities and city corporations in local government may be a green signal to the people’s long-coveted positive politics and this trend shall have to be geared up, maintained under any circumstances. Yes, we have no choice but to wait, wait for dawning a good day, days, month, months, year, years and on….. and, before penning off, I cannot but sound in a high volume:
O the Lord of Universe, visible and invisible
Let us be showered, showered with your kindness and blessings
Let our leaders be imbued with the true realization of our sufferings
Let us not be tried again and again for our follies and mistakes
Let us be beneficiaries of our struggles and elections
No more the leaders, no more the vested quarters, covert or overt
Let the present be a becoming ground, becoming ground
For giving birth to a promising generation
Full of vision, mission and patriotism
With the head high in pride, not hung down in shames.
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