At any given point in time, life has never been easy, but it wasn’t all suffering and sacrifices all the time. Civilizations and countries have lived through peaceful, prosperous and glorious eras at different points in their histories despite dark clouds hovering on the horizon. History shows that peaceful, prosperous and glorious times in different parts of the globe across different centuries are mainly due to the quality of leadership, which includes moral compass, empathy and solidarity with the people, vision for the future wherein the arts, sciences, commerce and culture flourish, rights, liberties and freedom are highly valued and fiercely protected and defended, laws are humane and stringently followed without fear or favour, collective moral compass is uncompromised and the people are prioritized above all else. The list goes on.
Some may critique that such leadership is not human, but history has proved otherwise. What is clear about such leadership is that there is a tangible quest for perfection in human hopes, dreams, aspirations and endeavours. Human nature has remained the same throughout the ages, but what differentiates great leadership from other kinds of leadership is faith in the people and in themselves, unambiguous vision and goals, and the ability to inspire people and instill confidence in them.
Ideology is one thing, but such leadership transcends ideology so as to place the people and country above all. Today, we talk of oil, energy and other natural resources. We talk of GDPs and markets. We talk of military might and the need to assert global power. We talk of our standing on the global stage. We talk of things that really don’t make any difference in the lives of millions who look up to the sky to gauge the year’s agricultural yield, worry about health and educational expenses and, most of all, pray for safety and security from the intimidation and dadagiri of petty neighbourhood mafias with links to political power centres, who more often than not double up as Shylocks imposing and extracting inhuman interest.
Leadership is meant to address and redress these issues, but instead it reinforces the perpetrators of such issues. This is apparent in governance, elections and markets — in fact, in every aspect of national life. The most painful aspect of it all is that political and economic power concentrated in the hands of the same political parties and groups reinforces the cycle of oppression, which is anathema to democracy. So then, where is democracy truly alive and thriving? Ironically, while democracy is the most used word, it is also the most abused practice. Ironically, too, democracy is used to ascend to the pinnacles of power by the most undemocratic political parties that propagate personality cults and suppress dissent in constitutionally proclaimed democracies.
Deny it all we want, but today the finest examples are the United States of America and India. As an example, the former’s internal actions on immigrants and its attack on Iran speak volumes about its democratic credibility. As for the latter, when an opposition-free India by hook or crook and the domination of one religion are avowed goals, and democratic and constitutional institutions are diluted and compromised, democracy has clearly been consigned to the dustbins and footnotes of history. Consequently, both economies are not flourishing as promised, yet the people remain mesmerized by carefully crafted illusions of glorious pasts. The problem is that no individual and no country has ever walked, ridden or flown back to the past, however glorious it was or was imagined to have been.
So here we are — gas prices have soared in both countries and, along with them, all other prices, as have unemployment figures. Life and living have become harder, but these issues are not addressed, much less redressed, by the two leaderships. Deflecting these real issues away from poor leadership towards opposition parties is actually insulting the intelligence of the people. But then again, in India, seeing electoral outcomes and religious obsessions, perhaps there isn’t much intelligence to insult?
Therefore, it has become easy to preach not buying gold, carpooling, working from home, avoiding foreign travel, etc., and all this has been so easily sold as patriotic duty. India has the largest young demographic and is believed to have one of the highest literacy rates — well, as compared to when we started in 1947 — but seeing how these assets and advantages are used, or rather misused and abused, makes one wonder how our youth are being reared, the status of our education system and what has happened to our moral compass. But then again, it is not surprising when democracy has increasingly been trampled upon and crumpled like a used sheet of paper.
Yes, the unwarranted US-Israel war on Iran has become a convenient excuse for the scarcity and rise in prices of oil, gas, other sources of energy, fertilizers, as well as essential goods, but that does not excuse the absence of good policies and governance. Development is often cited as a government achievement, but that still has not addressed unemployment, the failure of much-touted schemes like Made in India and, most of all, the cancellation of NEET due to the leakage of question papers.
The woes of this country, and even those of the US, are numerous and increasing. This is sheer leadership and governance failure. The thing is, winning elections is one thing, but good governance is another. Not only the leadership but also the people must wake up to the difference and know that winning is not the end but the beginning, and that it does not always meet expectations or produce desirable results. Often, the champion’s trophy is merely gold-plated, not real gold.
In any case, all that glitters is not gold, and the failure to understand and act on this has resulted in the debasement and degradation of the promises of democracy. Yet, in countries believed to be the largest or greatest democracies, democracy is being eclipsed by the prioritization of strident political parties and personalities, rendering the people either hypnotized or voiceless, the opposition demonized and dissent crushed. Meanwhile, crony capitalists are laughing all the way to the bank while people are becoming landless, their identities erased and their plates emptied. Ultimately, it is an unhearing, unseeing and uncaring leadership, and an equally unthinking people, that destroy democracy, the country and their future.
(The Columnist is a Dimapur-based veteran journalist, poet and former Editor of Nagaland Page. Published in the May 18, 2026 issue of North East Now)
(The views expressed are those of the writer and not of the newspaper)
