India's aging leadership

2011, a team that was touted to be one of the greatest Indian cricket had ever seen, fresh from a World Cup win, toured Australia only to be shockingly pounded into submission by an inexperienced line up. Four cricketing legends idolized and worshipped taking frequent bathroom breaks and horribly out of shape, brought the disillusioned fans crashing down to a reality that many were unwilling to face up to. History is replete with examples of stars overstaying their welcome, only to slide into mediocracy, from Elvis to Mohammad Ali. Does India cling on to an aging leadership way past their prime?

The current Indian cabinet ministry exhibits strong resemblance to the fab four, only at twice their age. The average age of the cabinet is over 65 years, the oldest is the External Affairs minister at 80 followed by the Prime Minister who will join the octogenarian club this year. When we talk about a young vibrant India its in direct contrast to the people’s representatives.  3/4^th of the cabinet is above the age of 60 and half over 70. With 65% of the population under 35 how do these leaders stay relevant?

This emanates from India’s tendency to idolize and deify their heroes and leaders for hundered of years. The tendency to cling on to an ageing leadership is not just with politicians and cricketers it extends to actors, musicians, poets and anyone with celebrity status. With the likes of Kushboo, Rajnikanth, Lata Mangeshkar,  Rabindranath Tagore, Abdul Kalam the list is endless. Some of these are stalwarts of the past but also demi gods to millions, immortals like the 330 million Hindu deities. The height of the obsession was when worshipping South Indian fans built a temple for Kushboo, a rather heavyset lead actress, who was best known for her voluptuous-hip shaking dance sequences.

A healthy leadership structure is one where there is periodic churn where young leaders replace the old, bringing with them fresh ideas and direction.  An aged risk-averse leadership will end up bottling a young energetic country, frustrating them. This was evident when scores of India’s youth took to the streets when Anna Hazare called for change; many of them had no clue about the Lokpal legislation, but were out there to vent some of the bottled tension.

A young country is dynamic, energetic and raring to go. They need the right avenues and tools to tap into these assets, where they can believe anything is possible and make it happen. They need leaders that radiate confidence and willing to make bold decisions. Sadly the current leaders and representatives of this great nation are quite the opposite. Manmohan Singh has provided tireless service to the country, but is barely audible when he addresses the nation, which itself is a rarity. In an age of hyper-communication a docile, non-communicative leadership is like a butler leading a hippie congregation.

Is the problem a reluctant youth or a stubborn incumbent. There are few like Amir Khan an actor trying to shed light on social challenges through his talk shows or Arvind Khejriwal an IRS officer turned activist. Arvind who won the Magsasay award carries on his stellar work creating greater transparency in India’s corrupt government. Will the many tiny sparks of brilliance trigger a leadership transition? Easier said than done, one must be willing to get their hands dirty to enter politics in India. The barriers are mountainous, the challenges range from deeply entrenched multi-generation dynasties to money power that few have access to. This leads to many attempting to change the system from the outside, but I’m afraid that’s like moving an elephant with a safety pin. 

India desperately needs a powerful movement for change, one that can break through powerful political and vested interests. At a time when the country seems to have lost direction and the desire to move forward, a young movement is imperative to address the critical leadership deficit.

Posted in: Politics