VS, Soren, Malik—leaders of a rare kind

There are leaders who sway the masses with their selfless deeds, stunning oratory and passion for securing justice for the millions whose interests they protect. They do not mind  defying the political norm and speak their mind to the powers that be, come what may, for what matters most is their commitment to the truth and the welfare of the people at large.

There are also leaders, who by virtue of money and muscle power, climb the ladder of political success at astonishing speeds. They are strangers to struggles for the people’ cause, nor committed to any ideology for what matters most is the lust for power and whatever benefit it brings.
India lost three outstanding leaders who belong to the former lot in the past one month -VS Achuthanandan, Shibu Soren and Satyapal Malik. They were leader who rose up the ranks, participated in struggles for the cause of the people and were jailed or beaten up but continued to have undying faith in the ideals they held so dear.

Comrade Achuthanandan fought the might of the British and the Travancore Diwan’s forces in the pre-Independence era and continued to be a central figure of the Left movement in Kerala till his death. His life story and the murderous torture he had to undergo during the Punnapra –Vayalar struggle, are part of legend in God’s Own Country.

No less inspiring is the story of Soren, who played a towering role in the movement to secure statehood for Jharkhand. Rising from the depths of poverty after his father was killed by a money lender, Soren became a cult figure among the tribals in Jharkhand for his never-say-die attitude when it came to securing their rights in a tribal dominated state. Taking on alcoholism among the tribals, and the money-lenders who bled the poor farmer white, he tried to free the resource rich state from the grip of exploitative industrialists and traders. He was known for distributing lanterns and slates among the population to spread the light of learning. And so, he drew many a rival to his death bed, some of them teary-eyed, to pay their tributes to the ‘Guruji’ of Jharkhand politics.

Satyapal Malik was bred in the stormy days of the Janata parivar and was known for his outspokenness. The former governor of Bihar and Jammu and Kashmir had no qualms in hitting out against widespread corruption, even if it meant rubbing the high and mighty in Indian politics the wrong way. Whether it was the alleged security lapses during the 2019 Pulwama terror attack or the high-handed manner in which the BJP-led Centre treated the agitation against the controversial farm laws, Malik did not hold back his thoughts, lambasting those in power for their failings.
Some leaders are born, others are bred by the circumstances they live in.

A lesson one can draw from the lives of these three leaders, is that what makes a leader stand out and earns him the loyalty of the masses, is his ability to speak the truth, whether it rubs people the right or wrong way. Comrade VS, Soren and Malik were rare leaders of a steely calibre and one can only hope that more leaders of their kind are born in this great nation.