“My leader and his/ her followers have more positive and godly qualities than yours!” This has become root cause of many quarrels in the world including India.

“My leader and his/ her followers have more positive and godly qualities than yours!” This has become root cause of many quarrels in the world including India.

It was from 1980’s to 1986 that we always had this discussion while playing chess or other games in the summer holidays or Diwali holidays.

One day, we saw, posters about this.

We saw election rallies and same thing.

We saw many processions and same thing.

People came to us and predict or talk about the same thing.

People even debated on such issues and it had not end.

We saw live hot discussion minus quarrel between Dr. Hedgewar and Mahatma Gandhi’s followers especially, of their thought processes, same with Dr. Ambedkar’s followers and others, Mr. Lohiya’s followers and others, and then on the TV we saw Democrats and Republics and Labor party. Then once we saw, even followers of spiritual and religious leaders, and then we heard present Ministers and others throwing mud on others, then saw even top businessmen and others doing same things, finally we saw even Teachers and students had hot discussion on who is better teacher, the height was at the end even at home we saw similar thing at our neighbour’s house.

My friend and me were playing chess, suddenly he said, “Come on, can’t we give rest and peace to leaders who sacrificed their lives for certain cause, for example Jesus or Ram or Mohammad or Krishna or Buddha or Sant Dnayneshwar or Sant Ramdas or Mahatma Gandhi or Dr. Hedgewar or Dr. Ambedakar or …………..all past, present and future leaders? All have equally sacrificed in their lives. Thanks we’re not of the age to vote this year, otherwise, the way they eat our parent’s brain every now and then….I would have got fed up…” We laughed a lot.

“If you compare my mothers sacrifice would be the most”, one of the child said, and again we laughed. He further said, “I don’t think, others can stand even a single bit more than her, and if you quarrel and would request me to follow your path or your leader’s path or ask me to vote, or….then goodbye…I’ll follow my parents path…..or would create my own, give me a chance to think with conscious”. He was so irritated by the waste of time by such followers that he said, “If these leaders and messengers of God come down again and see what their followers are doing they will close the chapter of …their own path….I feel we don’t require leadership based democracy but consensus based democracy.”

Later that boy, went on to become MBBS and MD physician though he was interested in pursuing Ph.D. in History or going for IAS and coming to Indian Administration to avoid contacts with such people. When he spoke this he was just 15 years old, 2 years older than me.

Then, I added, “It’s time to think for our generation, to, let each leader be put in the frame of Human being and Humane than either iconising them or making them look more than God or putting him/ her at such a high position that slowly followers lose the path designed by him/ her. Take example, of Mahatma Gandhi, how many follow his path and his ideals? Take example of Prabhu Ramchandra, how many sacrifices avoiding an evil talk against elders or foul words against older or quarrels with elders at home? How many followers of Jesus follow the Ten Commandments? How many followers of Shrikrishna and Dnyaneshwar follow the path of “Ayamatma” or seeing Brahma i.e. Paramatma (Almighty god) everywhere? …………”. I was just 13 years old. At this my older friend said, “Who are you to say this? Who will listen to you?”

I said, “I’m naachis in this vast world is ok, but, am I wrong?”

At this he said, “Kisibhi chij ko naachij nahi kahatey Ashish…. i.e. Why are you calling yourself insignificant in this vast world?”…..Then he laughed, but, I kept on saying, “We’re wasting lot of time in this leader and follower quarrel and if we have a good things then it’ll bear good fruits….why can’t we think like this why we waste time….?”

The time has lapsed but the problem remains the same. Human civilization is traveling from illiteracy to illiteracy and from ignorance to ignorance it seems. We’re so near in designing the Millennium Development Goals but due to “Not walking the Talk”, we might lose our battle against hunger, illiteracy ….and ....the same old stories will continue till ….. only God knows.

Dr. Ashish Manohar Urkude, lives on the ground, Nagpur, India, ashish.urkude@gmail.com