Book review: A guide towards leadership

A provocative reflection on political leadership, public service and the lessons offered by The Inspired Leader

October 21, 2026

India’s leadership debate through Anil Sachdev’s lens

The Norwegian Nobel Committee which awards the annual Peace Award should honor three hitherto unsung three heroes and heroin for their “commendable achievements” at least in 2027. Jawaharlal Nehru, his daughter Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv Gandhi, who were kind enough to bless India by becoming the Prime Ministers (1947-1964, 1966-1977, 1980-1984 and 1984-1989), deserve this global honor for their success in keeping India poor, malnourished, ignorant, illiterate and disease infested throughout their tenure.

Though the Italian-born Antonio Maino (known by her fake name Sonia Gandhi) continued the Nehru-Gandhi mission by remote controlling the Manmohan Singh-led government is yet to be considered for the same recognition, the same could be awarded to her either in 2028 followed by her son Rahul Gandhi the next year. How this clan succeeded in ensuring that India remained poor in all respects despite the vast natural resources and human resources at its disposal could be made a subject for research in management or public administration or even sociology.

The era of Nehru and the Gandhis were known for scarcity of food, cloth, shelter, schools, colleges, hospitals, and factories. India was described across the globe as a nation of daridra-narayanas. The Nehru-Gandhi clan never wanted India and Indians to progress. The Thiruvananthapuram- New Delhi-Kerala Express takes 49 hours and 15 minutes to travel 3031 km even in this era of high-speed jet airliners and bullet trains. This means that it takes the commuter more than two days to commute this stretch. The self-styled progressive clan either failed miserably or failed to introduce high-speed locos across the country to bring down the travelling time of trains.

It is heartening to note that we have Vande Bharat Expresses, and high-speed inter-city expresses plying on the railway tracks. When it was declared that India would soon get its first bullet train by 2029, what one saw was a feeling of cynicism from the leaders of the GOP. What they could not visualize in 64 years of family rule was being implemented by the stroke of a pen that took hardly one or two hours. “What does he know about ruling the country? We are the only family capable of leading and ruling the country. The rest are imbeciles,” is the catchword of the so-called royal family, which is only familiar with commission, kickbacks, thefts, and dacoity. They did not allow anyone outside the clan with an iota of leadership quality to intervene in the affairs of the state. This is what makes Narendra Modi a distinct and different leader. This is not a eulogy for Modi, but here is a man who came up through hard ways in life and emerged as a leader of his own right, because of which people love him.

Narendra Modi is not a superman. He acquired professional knowledge and competence through hard work. He made use of the opportunities he got as an RSS pracharak and BJP office-bearer to acquire knowledge and competence by interacting with people in different walks of life. Modi got first-hand experience of the sufferings of the people during his nationwide journeys, and that stood him in good stead when he undertook election campaigns in Gujarat, followed by the rest of the country. Instead of presenting himself as a leader, Modi offered his services to the people of the country and assured them that he would stand with them in all the crises they come across. Nothing surprising in the people identifying Modi as one among them, in stark contrast to the royal family members who told the people that they should be thankful to the Family for leading them. This writer had the opportunity to listen to Mama Indira asking the people to tighten their pyjamas, saris, and kurtas to counter the severe food shortage facing the country.

Interestingly, Nehru, Indira, or Rajiv did not take any concrete actions to address the shortages facing India. Modi eclipsed these Prime Ministers with his leadership qualities, which he acquired through professional knowledge and professional competence. (Some of the observations quoted here were made by Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw in one of his speeches)

The trio of Nehru, Indira and Rajiv was thoroughly incompetent in resolving shortages faced by India. They never had the leadership qualities to take the people into confidence. Why the Congress managed to win elections till 1971 was only because of the incompetence of the disunited opposition parties to present before the nation a united force. When the major opposition parties came together and took on the Congress in the 1977 election, the Congress castle collapsed like a pack of cards. Barring two instances of 1980 and 1984, the GOP was decimated by the mighty Opposition, and since then the clan has been on the run.

Why these reminiscences about leadership now? A book named “The Inspired Leader,” authored by Anil Sachdev and published by Penguin, is what made me jot down these points. Sachdev’s guidelines to be a good leader reiterate the fact that one acquires leadership qualities only through wisdom and competence. Professional knowledge is the sine qua non of leadership, again quoting the Field Marshal. He was speaking from his own experience.

Sachdev substantiates his arguments with what Swami Chinmayananda had said about leadership. Those who have listened to the modern-day sage will never forget his lessons on how to be a true leader. The author begins in style by demolishing two age-old lies about leadership. The first lie he dismantles is that leadership is about leading others, and the second one is that leaders are only born and cannot be developed. This he could have substantiated with a real-life example: the 56-year-old scion of the Nehru-Gandhi clan who is always under the impression that the Prime Minister’s chair belongs to him only, as a birthright.

It was a pleasant experience to read “The Inspired Leader,” and Sachdev’s major achievement is that he has succeeded in taking the reader to the unknown facts behind leadership qualities. There are many works by management gurus about leadership, but Sachdev’s erudition stands out. What caught my attention was the author’s belief and trust in the Indian knowledge system on which he anchors his ideology.

‘The Inspired Leader‘ by
Anil Sachdev
Penguin

Rs 699/-

Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.

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