Visionary Leadership in Uttrakhand is a major concern area

Visionary Leadership in Uttrakhand is a major concern area
Bhishma Kukreti

Most of the Uttarakhandi are frustrated that even after a decade of formation of separate state , the citizens of Uttarakhand could not see their dream fulfilled. The growth of Uttarakhand is now really based on heavy growth in urbanization rather than the rural growth of hilly areas. Town are shaping cities and cities are becoming metros but the rural Uttarakhand is not witnessing any substantial benefits from the formation of new state. Barring subsidized benefits, the rural and specially the inhabitants of hilly areas are not observing any futuristic developmental path .
Yes, this issue of no innovative and advantageous conventional futuristic strategy, tactics and applicable planning for hilly area is a concern area of deep thinking for the learned persons of Uttrakhand.
The basic reason for low or no development of rural or hilly Uttarakhand is that the leaders of Uttarakhand are not leader in real sense. The political leaders in Uttarakhand lack the qualities of leadership which satisfies the need of the hilly areas .
The integrity, dedication, deep understanding of the area concern, consistency, decisiveness, assertiveness, are major qualities of a leader and on top of it is that the leader should be visionary about the state or her/ his own constituency.
However, no political or social leader of Uttarakhand has shown that she or he is true visionary in context of juristic development of hilly Uttarakhand. The visionary leader ia always capable of inspiring not only followers but opponents too. Since, uttarakhand is lacking a true visionary leader, there is always internal fight within the political parties I.e. within Congress and BJP . This is one reason that congress had to call Narayan Dutt Tiwari a spent force for Uttarakhand as chif minister for the state and BJP had to change chief ministers as late Indira Gandhi used to change her chief minister.
A real visionary leader can create coherency among various sections and groups. However, lack of sensible visionary leader in Uttarakhand, each myopic leader is creating more factionalism and fractures within her/his political party than creating coherence.
Rural Uttarakhandi lacks prophet leaders and that is the major reason that there are no realistic and futuristic changes in rural Uttarakhand which may be the sign, symbol, mark, of true development .
A visionary leadership means the dramatization of the vision, which always attract the people and create strong follower ship. But, no leader in Uttrakhand could gain a total follower ship in whole of Uttarakhand . This is one area of concerns that there is no single leader in Uttrakhand who can command the all people of each area of Uttrakhand . It clearly shows that most of the leaders of Uttarakhand are myopic and not visionary .
A true leadership vision provides the direction for changes and this aspect of direction for changes attract the people or mass but the leaders of Uttarakhand are conceptual less in terms of knowing the required changes and required tactics for those changes. This is one reasons that after formation of Uttarakhand , Uttarakhand could not provide a single leader who may be taller than his life and could dominate the people of Uttarakhand and his high command in Delhi.
Visionary leadership inspire the mass for going for radical changes but the acts of various leaders in Uttarakhand show that most of the leaders are not knowing what is required for rural Uttarakhand
Not taking innovative measures for rural Uttarakhand is the symbol of myopic leadership in Uttarakhand . Beating the old path is again the reflection of myopic leadership in Uttarakhand. Not understanding the micromanagement by the leadership in hilly areas of Uttarakhand is an example of presence of no-visionary leadership in the state. Thw situation is now, complex in each field of life. The true visionary leadership is always capable of segregating a couple of beneficiary aspects from complex situation for taking those aspects as practical means of development and make the complex most situation very simple. Uttarakhandis don’t see any leader in Uttarakhand who can segregate the beneficial aspects from complex aspects.
Until the leaders of Uttarakhand evolve themselves for being visionary they can not serve the state as it requires. For becoming visionary the leaders should shelve their short termed self interest and should keep the interest of people at first step.

Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti, Mumbai, 2009