‘Leaders’ & ‘Representatives’

We probably mix up with these two terminologies. Many a times we use ‘LEADERS’ where actually we should have used ‘REPRESENTATIVES’. These are just two examples of our reckless use of words without much reflection. A leader, to me, is a mirror. He holds fast to the TRUTH which he has reached out to after years of hard work and (re)search. He holds that truth closest to his heart and dearer than anything else. He shows the same truth as a mirror to his people.

The people reject and ridicule the leaders for a while and after only due passage of time accept them. This is almost always the case. The leaders know their people very well and the times they live in. They have a very clear idea about what is happening and why. They are well aware of what is not happening and why not. And what needs to be done to change the situation and how. They do not exploit a situation as do the representatives.

Our leaders are those who take us from one stage to another and a tangible difference is recorded by history – unmistakably. They treat their people not as they are but as they can and should be. They remove a lot many cobwebs in the minds of their people and educate them. They give new meaning to the words. They awaken them from deep slumber instead of lulling them into sleep at the noontime. Despite all these favors they are hardly ever garlanded. And they do not worry about it either. They are more concerned about garlanding their people.

The leaders talk to their people in clear and understandable terms. They are never confused about their own ideas. They clearly stand for something. And that something is clearly known to all. They talk to their own people more than ever talking on their behalf to others. This is what marks the LEADERS from REPRESENTATIVES. A leader is a life-long leader whether anyone follows him or doesn’t. This is not the case with representatives. They certainly need someone to represent.

A ‘representative’ only represents. This is his job. This is his career. He does not lead. Because he has no clear idea of the path and the destination. There are many external factors which make him a REPRESETATIVE. But he considers himself a leader and the people, too, consider him a leader. It compounds the whole situation. And it is hardly realized. Generations come and go but the confusion between ‘leaders’ and ‘representatives’ persists.

If we decide not to mix up between ‘LEADERS’ and ‘REPRESENTATIVES’ and use these two terms quite judiciously it will make a difference. A simple change of description will take away the charm from ‘leadership’ and it might set a few things right. Let us resolve to be very careful in the use of words like these and try our best to regain the lost meanings – a precondition for changing the discourse and moving towards rebirth.

After having established educational institutions with a VISION where our job is (or should be) to ‘develop a coherent body of ideas and creatively reach out to the unknown with critical and scientific thinking in order to arrive at the whole picture’ we will not need one single leader to show the mirror. We will get plenty of them from our Institutions. If we aren’t getting them now it is because of an incorrect concept of knowledge and lack of the following clear VISION:

The students coming out of our Colleges and Universities should have Qur’an in the right hand, most modern scientific and technological advancements in the left hand and the crown of Laa Ilaah on the forehead. So that the Muslims regain the same glorious status of founders and promoters of science and technology as they did during the ascendance of their civilization.