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Current Affairs | April 8, 2013, 1:19 pm

The shepherd principle: Leadership and Rahul Gandhi

PTI photo

It is a sign of our times that a pre-announced speech made by Rahul Gandhi, Vice President of the Indian National Congress, became as keenly awaited. From the moment he

began his talk; many thronged their small screens to hear his vision or road map of a modern, evolving India. In certain subterranean offices, bleary-eyed members of the trained

BJP social media began their preordained ridiculing of him as if in effortless tandem. Some veteran media analysts well past their prime time perhaps wrote their critical report a

day earlier, to meet newspaper deadlines. TV screens carried slug-shots. And soon everyone was an expert on Mr Gandhis speech, even before he began his Q&A session.

The discerning (including several CEOs) gave him a standing ovation, while the cynics carped and complained characteristic of their character, with prodigious relish. As I write,

reams of newsprint and the bottomless blogosphere are being extravagantly consumed by profound analysis of his speech. But it is still good news for Mr Gandhi- whether an

orchestrated downpour of negativity on social media or unbiased editorial assessment, he had hit the right buttons.

It worked because he was not making a party or personal pitch or a program-specific talk. It was a talk on the changing economic and social fabric of India and the role of the

various stakeholders; corporate India being a crucial component of that emerging India story, the other being the political establishment and the role of transparent governance.

Interestingly, the morning headlines of that day was inescapable- Sterlite, part of the multi-billion Vedanta Group which Mr Gandhi had protested against in Orissa, was fined Rs

100 crore for causing pollution. The Economisttalked of India becoming a great superpower in a global security context. Understanding the larger ecosystem needs sensitivity,

but sensibilities are normally scarce. Mr Gandhi picked up the gauntlet.

He assuaged apprehensive CEOs sporting deep frowns at the very beginning, that an anti-poverty focus would not be enough, that a public-private partnership model was

imperative in several sectors. For a usually cribbing India Inc, that was a message favoring participative liberalization that would encompass areas beyond hard physical

infrastructure to soft power like education. Without saying so in so many words, Mr Gandhi hinted that the demographic dividend stood to becoming a non-performing liability,with harmful social consequences if not properly channelised. His critics perhaps wanted him to talk about the National Skills Development Corporation (NSDC) and financial

investments, but this was not a cabinet minister talking shop. To get to the prescription, first you have to know the panacea, my impatient friends.

A less mature person or the conventional political leader would have rattled some compelling statistics of the UPA- strong GDP growth second only to China in the great

recession era post-2007 comprising of the US fiscal cliff and a dark Euro vision, doubling of per capita income, RTI, Lokpal Bill, FDI in multi-brand retail, Direct Benefits

Transfer, Food Security, MNREGA, Anti-Money Laundering Bill, Companies Bill, RTE, Criminal Amendment Bill, Whistleblowers Bill, Aadhar, reduction in poverty etc. But

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instead of indulging in self-congratulations, Mr Gandhi bit the bullet. A true leader lives in the moment, does not bask on past adulations. His main focus seemed evident; beyond

the explosive growth numbers, could we afford to be nonchalant about rising social and economic inequalities just because they did not make for TRP worthy debates? Or

because it sounds monotonous and drab to dark suited CEOs pontificating on India over cappuccino with the Swiss Alps in the background? Free market capitalism is fine for

growth, but can that enterprising engine fuel concentration of resources leading to a lopsided nation on a tilt?

One thing was obvious, not many CEOs in that audience or I dare say as many parliamentarians, have known India as much as Mr Rahul Gandhi has, at least since his political

debut in 2004. Even our media only does its annual India darshan rituals come elections. When was the last time you saw a well known media personality comment on a

communal conflagration in Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh or farmer suicides in Gujarats Saurashstra region or the tribal violence in Kalahandi, Orissa? It is far easier to hang around

in Lutyens Delhi with a crestfallen countenance making lengthy lamentations. Gandhi is rewriting Indias script. A friends son studying MBA at Cornell, USA said he was

overwhelmed. This is the kind of leader India needs, he called to say. Young students I know, said he talks and thinks about India with care and concern. We trust him

completely. But you have to see Mr Gandhi in the heart of a fighting, determined, aspirational India in its woebegone interiors to understand his deep engagement with the aam

aadmi. Knowing the real India gives you a different quality of confidence, far beyond the cool aplomb of a sound byte manufacturing machine. On that day at CII, it showed.

You know the people that you need to lift up the income and quality of life curve, whom you represent, whose lives depend upon your delivery.

There are those prejudiced urban commentators who sit in five-star hotels over camembert souffl and mock Rahul Gandhi and his discovery of India. But the truth is that they

will probably collapse in the sweltering heat if they go beyond the Bandra-Worli sea link. India is a complex country in a fascinating stage of its breakneck speed evolution.

Thats why people like Patrick French, William Dalrymple, Mark Tully, Amartya Sen and a host of other authors try and demystify it. Gandhi knows that the real India story is

an endless quest, and its discovery is never ending. Even if you feel you have figured out the intriguing puzzle, it will be an ephemeral sighting, because by the time the

geographical peregrinations are over, the country would have mutated into another dimension altogether.

His most telling observation was that India needed exponential solutions, not incremental ones given its extraordinary issues. The age of insouciant gradualism in effecting change

was over. It was not about reforming India anymore, it was about transforming it. Implicit was the admission that governments (including his own) have a gigantic task ahead. So

be it. On Centre-state relations Mr Gandhi hinted at the devolution of power, on the growing impact of the institution of panchayati raj, because the budgetary allocations of the

Centre has little meaning if state governments do not energize their systems of delivery to the last mile for parochial reasons. Instead of talking about the NCTC, he went on to

explain the philosophical and the realpolitik tangle that cripples equations in our federal structure and impacts the common man. He avoided the bland clich of the tiger versus

the elephant analogy that is often used to describe us as a nation; the beehive has that restless, indefatigable, kinetic passion about it, and a buzz too.

Mr Gandhi could happily let Congress take credit for young Indias remarkable journey since Independence. A few stats will suffice: 90% lived below the poverty line in 1947(22% now), life expectancy was 27 years (70 years currently) and a tele-density of 1 as late as in 1994 (India has 970 million mobile connections). But he is perhaps the last

man standing who wants cheap applause.

The bottomline is that solutions only come to those who are first aware of the problems that exist and are willing to acknowledge it. Usually, a majority of mankind takes things at

face value, happy with cosmetic solutions. Not for Mr Gandhi. In him, India has a leader with responsible hands and a thinking head. He seems to believe in leading India

forward like a shepherd, one who keeps the flock together, watches their trajectory, strengths and movements, helps those struggling to climb uphill and brings those back into

the fold who may have gone transitorily astray, but always giving equal time to all under his watchful guidance. He does so from behind, leading quietly and steadily but with

unflagging commitment, never hesitating to run ahead and give some cautionary advice or a brief sermon if that is required. The shepherd thus lets his flock choose direction and

become a part of the solution, part of the journey. For him the journey only ends when the entire flock reaches the comfort of home, ensured by his comforting presence and

guidance. There is no discrimination or favor to any amongst his flock, the inclusiveness is universal. Mr Gandhi is a shepherd who clearly walks the talk.

Tags: Confederation of Indian Industry, Rahul Gandhi

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Author:Sanjay Jha Sanjay is Co-Founder of www.HamaraCongress.com and Executive Director of the Dale Carnegie Training operations in India

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