Monday, January 30, 2012

Leadership vacuum

Kofi Annan characterises the greatest problem of contemporary times to be absence of good leaders. Where are the leaders in your case study of collective action (poster) drawing their legitimacy?

43 comments:

Chocodips said...
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Chocodips said...

My poster topic is Lokpal Bill Movement whole chief leader is Anna Hazare. He derives legitimacy from the value system, as he is fighting against corruption. More so with scams like CWG, 2G, etc having rocked the country, the movement was welcomed by the masses.
-Bhavi Patel (32011)

Shipra Sharma said...

The first naxal organisation in Bihar was set up in 1967 in the Ekwari village of the Bhojpur district under the leadership of Jagadish Mahato. Naxalism in Bihar was initiated as a war against the landlords, to come out of the issues of existing tenancy relations, poor wages, lack of social honour,etc. The oppression by the landlords escalated to such a level that the whole class of suppressed population came together. The unity and common will of these oppressed people gives legitimacy to the Naxal leaders like Jagadish Mahato.
Shipra Sharma
(32092)

Ritu Kashyap said...

Leaders like Anna Hazare have become endangered species so very soon good leaders would be extinct from the scene there would be a complete vacuum. These great leaders were great because they had legitimized their action in front of the government and common masses which strengthened their stand and helped them to achieve the goal.
Padmashree Vitthal Rao Vikhe Patil had legitimized his act of binding the poor farmers under cooperative because they were oppressed by the rich sugar cane factory owners, this was unethical and anti-social since they had the potential resources but was redirected for the rich.
(32037)

kajal kumari said...

I made my poster on 2G Scam. The leader that was put forward was the telecom minister A.raja. But i doubt if he can be called a leader. How could someone lead the elite multinationals to such a deed. its a depiction of how individualistic people have become and the concept of collectivism exists till it provides some benefits to the person. Collectivism in such instances is a misuse of its essence.

TOMARSHUBH said...
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TOMARSHUBH said...

My poster was on Indigo movement. The most amazing aspect of this movement was the role of leaders in it. The beginning if this was like any other movement in the country at that period. Murder of the british officials and the follow up of the crowd in the same direction. The turn came when Biswas brothers(leaders) propagated non violence for the movement and thus made the first approach of a non violent movement which was then later adopted by Gandhiji. It proves that the people really follow the leaders if they can convince them of their intentions and make them confident about the future results.
Shubham Tomar
32093

salman haider said...

Woodstock is the collective action and it lacked a face of a leader, talking about the event, it derived its legitimacy from the feeling of suppression that the people were having due to the government policies and prevalent rules and regulations. when they were provided free environment then the expression of freedom developed into a mass movement.

Mahesh(p32019) said...

My poster topic was Textile mills Strike in Mumbai with specific reference20 months longs Great Bombay Strike of 1982 involving 250000 mill workers. Mill workers insisted Dr. Datta Samant a veteran unionist and medical practitioner by profession to lead movement and accepted his leadership. Dr.Datta Samant drew legitimacy from earlier success he got through his militant tactics in earning wage increase in other industrial sites in Bombay. And his views and demand against unions with political party affiliations against which there was resentment among workers for past two decades
Mahesh Dharap
p32019

Rabindra Kumar said...
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Rabindra Kumar said...

Helplessness of certain section of society inspires the leaders to give voice to helpless in form of collective action. In case of Rationing Kruti Samiti (RKS), Hindu- Muslim riots of 1992-93 in Mumbai and its affect on the food security of the poor and high level of corruption in PDS inspired Mrs. Leena joshi to mobilise the slum dwellers, migrant Muslims and others to get their share. This action of Leena Joshi has produced discomfort for certain section (politician) but hardships of poor legitimise the collective action and give enough reason to lead.
Rabindra Kumar (p32085)

Rohitash Jain said...

My poster topic is Gujjar Agitation for Reservation in Rajasthan. Gujjars being deprived community are not benefitting from current quota system. Under the leadership of Col. Bainsala, protest began in 2007 leading to blockage of road and railway tracks. It made the state standstill for months. Thousands of Gujjars came for agitation. At the end government granted 5% reservation under special category. He succeeded in getting community support because no community leader before Bainsala voiced against state. It was his charismatic leadership which made this movement structured, sustained and continuous collective action for more than 4 years.
32088

PRATEEK PARIMAL said...

Emergence of a sustainable MFI in Bihar- JEEViKA is the theme of my poster. Although the various project managers are the leaders in terms of rational authority yet the area coordinators in the village who are in charge of the village organizations are the real leaders. They coordinate the VO meetings where members of 6-8 SHGs participate. While attending the meetings I was surprised to see that not only they presided over the meetings but also generated interest among the members encouraging them to give their views and generate new ideas for more efficient working of the whole organization.
Prateek Parimal(32029)

PRATEEK PARIMAL said...
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Jainee Nathwani said...

My poster was on Revolt Against Industrialization in Kutch. The leader, Mr. Rasikbhai Mehta, who initiated the revolt, has used full legitimacy in conducting the movement. He made sure that all the people concerned with the working and establishment of industries were made known of the problems faced by the villagers and that the issues troubling them, are taken care of without breaking any rules and with full support of the government. The revolt was successful only because of the selfless intentions of Mr. Mehta who saw the good of village without seeking any personal benefits from the industries.
32071

Ajay vikram singh said...

In the Gorkhaland movement, people were fighting for a separate state to essentially demand identity and to stand against the questions raised over their citizenship only because of the cultural differences they had with other parts of the state. The strong consent and support of the masses for the leader who is fighting for these issues, gave him the courage and legitimacy to carry out the protest.
Ajay vikram singh (32053)

Parminder Singh said...

My poster topic is Jan sunwai movement. Talking about the leader, there was no individual face who directed it. In the beginning, it was used by MKSS (mazdooor kisan shakti sanghatan) as a tool to facilitate public participation. But it only acted as a facilitator. It was the people who used it to form a collective action against their exploitation. It derived its legitimacy from the awareness of people about their exploitation.
Parminder Singh (32083)

mayank k said...

My poster topic was libyan revolution .The basic factor responsible for this revolution was the suppression and oppression of people by the government of col Gaddafi.There was no individual face leading the revolution but it was a mass movement against the existing norms.It was a case of collective leadership by the masses
Mayank kashyap
p32023

Nilesh Sharma said...

My poster topic was Bangladesh Liberation Movement.The people of East Bengal were suppressed and they were not given their legitimate right.Their was a lot of anger among the masses against the injustice and he converted that anger into a collectiv action.He tried to put Bengal pride on top,which gave him lot of support.He was able to convince people that only liberated bangaldesh can give them their lost pride.

Abhinav Deep Sinha said...

My poster was on the Nandigram SEZ movement which was focussed around preventing the setting up of an SEZ over 14000 acres of farmland in West Bengal. Here, the local protest body, Bhumi Unchhed Pratirodh Committee(Committee Against Forceful Acquisition of Land) handed over their leadership to Mamata Banerjee of Trinamul Congress as they realised that she had the resources to bring their struggle into national prominence and carry it to its logical conclusion.

Subhradip said...
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Subhradip said...

My poster was on the Silent Valley agitation in Kerala against construction of a dam on Kunthipuzha river, in the ecologically sensitive area of Silent Valley. The agiatation derived its leadership from Kerala Shastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP).A large number of teachers and students came together in this movement. It is widely credited as the first successful movement by teenagers. Under the able leadership of KSSP , the construction of the dam was cancelled and Silent Valley was declared a National Park.
Subhradip Barman
(p32096)

empowered said...

Even as there exist diverse views on the LLTE’s war to demand a separate Tamil Eelam (nation), the fact remains that following years of suppression and treatment as second-grade citizens, the Tamil population of Sri Lanka grew disillusioned with the government. This gave rise to a violent revolution under the aegis of LTTE and its leaders, mainly Prabhakaran, inspired people by giving them hope about a more just society. This was a main reason behind the support LTTE continued to draw from people, especially in Northern Province, before it was suppressed by the Lankan Army.
- Swati Vashisth (32098)

komal said...

Leadership is not necessarily used for a legitimate cause. In my case study, Demolition of Babri Masjid, even as the ‘act’ could not be termed legitimate by any standard, the leaders of the BJP and the Shiv Sena successfully managed to convince numerous members of a particular sect to demolish the grand mosque by appealing to their religious sentiments. Thus, they drew their legitimacy by using religion as a card and igniting people by targeting their egos.
- Komal Didwania (32076)

p32043 said...

My poster was on URMUL MOVEMENT.Sanjoy Ghose, an IRMA graduate, is a person who has lived and worked for the poor all his life. Especially for the rural poor. It is due to his influential leadership and consistent efforts for over a decade that a village like 'Dandkala'(inhabited by Pakistani refugees after 1971 Indo-Pak war) which was marked by poverty, hunger and deprivation has now been transformed into a place wherein rural women have a say in the decision making process. This collective action shows that villagers required facilitators and not sympathizers and Mr.Sanjoy Ghose proved to be one such facilitator.
Tahira Sheikh(32043)

Neelam said...

In Narmada Bachao Aandolan, Medha Patkar acted as a channel of communication between the government and the dam evacuation victims. She provided critiques to the project authorities and the government involved. At the same time, she argued for rights with the authorities for all those displaced were only given compensation for the immediate standing crop and not for displacement and rehabilitation. Raising voice for the unheard weaker sections with their support in fighting against the authority legitimizes her actions.
Neelam (p32026)

Unknown said...

My poster topic is Pro democracy movement in Myanmar under the leadership of Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace laureate. The movement has come to symbolise the struggle of Burma’s people to be free.
Suu Kyi has spent more than 15 years in detention, most of it under house arrest. She was released from her current third period of detention on Saturday 13th November 2010.
She has called on people around the world to join the struggle for freedom in Burma, saying “Please use your liberty to promote ours.”

JAY SINGH
32072

Ankithreddy said...

In my case of Telangana movement thought there are many leaders, prime one is K Chandrasekhar Rao of TRS pary. He is drawing legitimacy from the people who have their wish of separate Telangana state-from the martyrs of Telangana movement, from the oppressed people of Telangana, from the freedom fighters during Nizam's rule.

-Ankith Reddy(32054)

Raj kamal goldi said...

I wrote an essay on a farmer protest against a sugar factory. Leader was not acting in the best interests of followers. But still people came under his leadership. He drew legitimacy and acceptance primarily from his track record in the community as an honest person, his personal contacts in the nearby villages and hence ability to mobilize a sufficiently large number of people, he himself being a large farmer and hence involvement of his own interests in the success of the collective action, his ability to incur the expenses required for organizing the protest etc.
Raj kamal goldi(32033)

Anusha said...

The legitimacy of Sundarlal Bahuguna leading the Anti-Tehri dam movement comes from his charismatic personality. He had already led the much famous 'Chipko Movement' in the past wherein people collectively fought for the conservation of trees. In case of anti Tehri dam movement Sundarlal Bahugana led the front for his attachment to nature and the town ‘Tehri’ which were at peril due to the dam construction. People, be it environmentalists or displaced could feel and relate to him and his cause. He came out as an adaptive leader, leading by example, of practicing ‘fast unto death’ at the construction site.

Ankush said...

Even as the means were different, the various leaders of the Sarvodaya movement had a common goal in mind – welfare and uplift of all. This goal, they gradually tried to inculcate in their followers as well, which was reflected in the success of the Bhoodan movement, where people liberally gifted land to the deprived. The total revolution of JP Narayan and Gandhi’s call for education of all and uplift of Harijan also received many takers. So, it can be said that the idea of a just, equal society inspired people and gave legitimacy to the movement.
-Ankush Khanna

Pavan EVSR said...

My topic of poster was Wikileaks. And leader of Wikileaks, Julian Assange doesn’t need an introduction. He is a journalist and a former hacker who believes in hacktivism, a phenomenon which uses computers and computer networks to bring out social change. His identity as a hacker and as a journalist and his strong belief in freedom of press gives him strong legitimacy as a leader. Also any leader, who takes considerable personal risk, draws legitimacy automatically. Ability of a leader to come forward and address the issues during the times of crisis will improve his/her credibility.
Pavan EVSR(32084)

Antony said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Antony said...

The Self-Respect Movement was aimed at achieving Swayam Maryada(Self-Respect).
E. V. Ramasamy who later came to be known as Periyar (the great man) derived his strength by arousing the discontent among - the people in the street, the commoners, the teeming millions, the over-whelming majority of the society - the non-Brahmins.
He stressed the need to abolish the hierarchal, graded, birth-based caste structure as a prelude to build a new egalitarian social order. He used the Justice Party as a vehicle to mobilize the non-Brahmins. He resorted to slogans, sermons and rhetorics. He showed how -God, religion, Congress, Gandhi and the Brahminism- all played a role in the Brahmin hegemony.
Antony(32006)

Antony said...

The Self-Respect Movement was aimed at achieving Swayam Maryada(Self-Respect).
E. V. Ramasamy who later came to be known as Periyar (the great man) derived his strength by arousing the discontent among - the people in the street, the commoners, the teeming millions, the over-whelming majority of the society - the non-Brahmins.
He stressed the need to abolish the hierarchal, graded, birth-based caste structure as a prelude to build a new egalitarian social order. He used the Justice Party as a vehicle to mobilize the non-Brahmins. He resorted to slogans, sermons and rhetorics. He showed how -God, religion, Congress, Gandhi and the Brahminism- all played a role in the Brahmin hegemony.
Antony(32006)

MESSI said...

My poster on Startup Weekend (founder Andrew Hyde,2007) is based on the idea of “from concept to company in 54 yrs”. It is a grassroots initiative where group of leaders & entrepreneurs brainstorm a single business idea and work to bring that business to fruition in 54 hrs. The startup enthusiasts come and share their ideas, form teams and launch companies. The whole idea is to ensure that community leaders have a sustainable platform to effect real chance within their local communities. It derives its legitimacy of entrepreneurship “from the culture”, of which we are a part. Mohit P32025

Manas Mittal said...

In my case(Maruti Suzuki agitation) there was a young leader,who was ITI graduate and was having great pursuasive power as well as ability to influence co-workers at work.But most importatntly he knew how to use the workers in a collective mode against the management at Maruti Suzuki which made him legitimate leader during the strike.
Manas MIttal(P32020)

ADHOORA PANNA@ANURAG said...
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ADHOORA PANNA@ANURAG said...

my poster topic was CHIPKO ANDOLAN. the central leader here was SUNDER LAL BAHUGUNA,a GANDHIAN, who drives legitimacy with his charismatic personality with which he was able to motivate people to this extent of lying down their lives for nature. He was the one who took 5000km foot march in the country to make people come collectively to save the nature.He was also a good negotiator & with the help of people he was able to show results and that also added to his legitimacy.

ANURAG SRIVASTAVA
32056

Sameera Mushini said...

My poster reflected phases of the SEWA Movement. It was started by Ela Bhatt in the 1970s and is still going on. Though the specific target groups have changed in the timeline, the Self Employed Women’s Association is still into organising women in the urban slums who do petty jobs like rag picking, chindi making and beedi making. Every woman is a leader here. These leadership skills were fostered because of the need, need to channelize their efforts in the right way so that whatever meagre income they make, is not gobbled down by the middle men.

Sameera Mushini
P32038

Kireet said...

My poster was on the topic of World Social Forum (Anti-Globalization). The movement has manifested itself in various countries for different reasons but has not been able to sustain itself and become a mass movement. The biggest reason for this is the absence of a leader who can hold the movement together, give it legitimacy, guide it and at the same time is accepted by participants. This movement and its inability to manifest itself as a worldwide revolution in spite of all the support is a good example of the need of good leadership for the success of any movement.
Kireet Pande (32018)

Dhruv Mittal said...

My poster was on “Protest against retailing industry”. On the surface if we see, most of the leaders are the head of some trade union in Delhi or Bangalore or Kolkata. But in reality, actual leaders of the protests are politicians. These leaders without critically examining the issue and coming up some constructive criticism, always indulge in bashing of each other in public. So many a times we have discussions on issue of public importance not inside but outside the parliament. This only shows how present leadership lacks shared vision.
Dhruv mittal
32064

shashank- EXPLORING MYSELF said...

My topic for poster was salwa judum which since its inception in 2005 was described as either a spontaneous peaceful tribal upsurge against the Maoists, or a violent government backed vigilante force. The sate sponsored militia was banned in 2011 by the supreme court. Te movement was led by a local tribal leader, Mahendra Karma along with commanders of special police officers . As the movement lost legitimacy the top leadership disappeared because their vested interested couldn’t be now fulfilled.

Shashank Singhania
P32091