Before Nehru died the question generally asked by all sections of the people was: After Nehru who? Many even thought that after Nehru it was deluge!

Many had speculated on many names. I do not think Lal Bahadur Shastri who succeeded Nehru was one among them. If it were so, the always stand - by Prime Minister and the senior-most Congressman Gulzari Lal Nanda would not have been sworn - in as a stop - gap Prime Minister.

After Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi succeeded him and continued to rule the country as the Prime Minister till 1977. There was an interregnum from 1977 to 1979 when Janata Party ruled only to bounce back as Prime Minister, till her assassination in 1985.

Anyway while Nehru ruled India for 17 years (1947 - 1964), she ruled for almost 16 years. Though the country was beset with crisis after crisis during the rule of father and daughter, it was not considered a period where there was a crisis of leadership. Their leadership was almost unconditionally accepted, what with comfortable majority in the Parliament.

A strong leadership gives stability to a country, which India indeed enjoyed during the rule of father and daughter. However, after that India has been really suffering from a leadership crisis. I do not think even today we have a very strong political leadership as we had under Nehru and Indira Gandhi.

In India, sadly we find a number of books on leadership and also claims on leadership by yesterday’s politicians but we really do not have leaders of the kind we saw in Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, Subhas Chandra Bose, Rajagopalachari, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and the likes.

How to define a great leader? According to the co-founder of TIME magazine, Henry R. Luce, "That history did not make the leader, but the leader made history." In other words, whoever makes history is a leader. It is indeed true, in the case of Mahatma Gandhi, Subhas Chandra Bose, Nehru and Indira Gandhi. In fact, after the Bangladesh war, Indira Gandhi was credited with not only making history but also geography by creating an independent country — Bangladesh.

Philosophically reflecting on these leadership issues one can indeed be optimistic by subscribing to the English expression, "Cometh the hour, cometh the man." The Leader, who could also be a woman!

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Global Recession:
Last Friday the screaming banner headline in Star of Mysore was, "Sex racket busted: 8 Bangladeshi girls held." A sort of foreign venture in flesh trade. I understand there are women from even Russia and the countries who became independent after communism was dismantled in Soviet Russia, operating in Bangalore.

Naturally, if they could make it to Bangalore, could they be away from Mysore for too long? I will not be surprised if in another raid on a sex den, we hear the names of other countries too.

According to reports, the global economic recession which has hit both manufacturing and service industry all over the world, has also affected the sex trade globally. It is hard times for sex workers from Bangkok to Berlin. The global economic downturn is hurting brothels and those who are engaged in that comfort - providing industry.

Bangkok which became South East Asia’s greatest tourist centre for sex following a prolonged Vietnam war with the presence of American soldiers, never had it so bad as in the present days, especially for the denizens of the Red Light District who depend mainly on tourists. They complained that customers who normally used to visit them three times a week are limiting themselves to once a week.

However, looking at the report published about the sex racket in Mysore it does not seem that sex trade is hard hit in India and, of course, in Mysore. Otherwise, why should girls from Bangladesh come to Mysore?

It is said; in foreign countries hotels have launched sex - oriented sales promotion in a bid to attract customers. In some hotels in Bang ok, where business is down, sex is also offered to the willing customers free of cost, along with breakfast!

Well, the world may sink in economic crisis but trade in vices shall sail through the crisis, whether it is sex, alcohol, tobacco or gambling. After all, they are time - tested, time - honoured, pleasurable human activities.