“IS IT WRONG TO BE A LEADER?”

      I still remember what my management guru said to differentiate between a Boss and a Leader “The Boss says do the Job…. While a Leader says let’s do the Job”. The difference is not grammar but it conveys a whole lot of things, the group dynamics and efficiency of work. Army leadership is good example to differentiate the two. But sadly over the days leaders with mettle have become a rare commodity, just as to find a needle in a stack of Hay. A leader has to always lead from the front and bear the brunt from bullets to the barb of backbites.

     Coming to the present situation where India is facing a severe threat from both internal and external elements. It has become a testing time for the Military leadership to prove their mettle. There was a strong argument from some quarter of the society that the present Military leadership in Army Headquarters is weak, follows the policy of Govt, non-aggressive and indecisive. Sometimes one feels they are correct because of lack of availability of factual information. Can one really say that Indian Army is not retaliating? See our opponent’s media they are full with Anti India news? Is there some truth in what they say? These are few questions when asked we would realize the actual stance of our leadership today.

  Present Army Chief, who has been always at the forefront in every battlezone, visits each and every location from most inhospitable terrain of Uttarakhand to the LoC, to make his presence felt. Due to his clear guidelines and instructions more than a dozen operations were conducted eliminating many hard core terrorists.  He always pulled up his commanders whenever he found some flows.  But the Irony is that his activity of being a Leader, giving clear instructions to the military commanders is being questioned by some corners of the society. My Questions to you all is “Is it wrong to be a leader?  Would you like an armchair General or a Robust, forthright General? ”

NATIONAL SECURITY & THE TWITTER CHIRP

 Coming back to following news after a long absence from the internet gives one a perspective of how talk is cheap & tweets are cheaper. The generation of thinkers & writers today have instilled a feeling of bliss in the populace that mere writing, or even less, just tweeting about events means that one has done their bit.

As a pillar of democracy, our defence forces are as strong as our democracy & vice versa. Approach towards the complex conditions of our ‘in-security scenario’ by just copying aspects from foreign countries, is in no way going to lead us to a sustainable strategic supremacy.

 Recent news coverage of cease fire violations & border transgressions do play on the patriot minds where one thinks that are we weak? Or are we weak hearted? It’s difficult to appreciate our armed forces, which not only have the advantage of numbers but also the backing of a large defence budget to be weak. Balance, weak hearted is more a matter of situation than belief.

We all compare our structured society as the template everywhere. It may not be true in case of our neighbours. In Pakistan, there is the Government, the Military & the Religious Groups. Each holds a significant stake in the power cauldron. Our unified front has a triad to engage; diplomatically, militarily & fundamentally. Yet, while we may choose our friends, we cannot choose our geographical neighbours. The entire business of engagement thus runs on fluid rules with a continuous SWOT overhang.

Chanakya mentions a requirement of 1:10, in levels of resource supremacy, to definitively defeat an adversary. As an economy, a military & a society, that ratio is missed when we compare ourselves with Pakistan. So expecting a subdued response from the other side is not simple, let alone fair. Even if we try beyond, patriotic & emotional victories so not appear worthwhile. We have not much to gain; they have not much to lose. Till this status does not change, It is what It is.

Being election season, discussing politics will only lead us to ideological dead ends. So let us look at the borders. The rustic, simple & dependable Indian soldier always gives me a faith of security. Incidents like the 6^th August killings on the LoC, though need deep introspect by national and military leadership, appears more as a reminder, that we still have a long way to evolve. The Army Chief visited the area. His orders were clear: Befitting Response. While a tiger just sniffs away flies that fly around its face, it kills any animal of a bigger size if threatened. Hence, ‘Befitting’.

Today, our perception is dictated by a bunch of people shouting their opinion on the 9 pm TV. The truth is, they are getting air-time and we are being short changed. In our democracy, while things are not bright. The business of insecurity and its proliferation is not helping our cause. I might not trust the preaching politics but I am sure of our bravest of brave, who don’t preach but ‘do’, for giving us the ‘free’ in freedom. Jai Hind!