Leadership and health
For the second time in four months, Russian President Boris Yeltsin has been hospitalized because of heart problems, the fact that the executive head of the second leading power in the world is hors de combat (and virtually incommunicado) is a matter of great concern within Russia and in the outside world, though one daresays for widely differing reasons. Indifferent health of executive heads of major powers always excites apprehension as in the periodic medical bulletins of US Presidents Eisenhower (1952-1960) and Reagan (1982-1988). Even President Bush, very much an outdoor man in the mould of Carter and Clinton, saw attention focussed on his ability to govern after he collapsed during a dinner speech in Tokyo. Successive Soviet leaders Brezhnev, Andropov and Chernienko went through protracted illnesses while the world waited on a lingering death watch. Such is the effect of inter-action of the health of world leaders with world events that US President Clinton does not spare a single photo-opportunity (photo-ops) for a jog, thereby symbolizing the dynamism of the only remaining Super-power in the world.
Symbolism aside, it is vitally necessary to have leaders in the best of physical and mental health in all critical places. The essence of good leadership is that decision-making be a sound mental process that is definitive and far-reaching, one can hardly expect someone who is in poor health to make constant good decisions in any positive manner. A person in poor health, whatever may be the person’s qualities of mind and character will frequently make bad decisions. History’s most famous case is that of Adolf Hitler, believed to be under heavy medication in the later part of the Second World War. Always high strung, Hitler maintained taut control over himself while giving far-reaching decisions in the early part of the war. As his health deteriorated and the medicine dosage increased, his temper tantrums and irrational decisions cost the Germans, a nation of very precise people, very dearly. Would Hitler, in full possession of his senses, not have withdrawn his Army to secure defences and much less extended (and vulnerable) Lines of Communication (L of Cs) when it became apparent that the Russian winter was about to engulf the Germans in 1942 or for that matter allowed Von Paulus 6th Army to be encircled at Stalingrad, among a host of other mindless instructions?
The Hindustan Times has reported concern in the Indian Defence Ministry about the ailing health of the top hierarchy of the Indian Army. After the death of the Indian COAS due to heart attack, a random medical check-up carried out by Indian Medical Corps doctors showed up over a dozen officers of the rank of Major General and above having low medical category, the more common serious ailments being heart problem, cancer or diabetes. It seems that a number of senior officers got themselves cleared under coercion or even subterfuge. Among those who managed “a clean bill of health” were at least two GOC-in-Cs, one Deputy COAS and two Corps Commanders, all serving in sensitive military posts. The late COAS Indian Army, Gen PC Joshi, had had a mild heart attack six months before his death but the medical team had shown this as “Bronchitis” at the “request” of the Army Chief. Thereafter Gen Joshi had remained on heavy medication till his death. Our late COAS, Gen Asif Nawaz Janjua, also died of heart ailment but though he had a family history of heart disease, there was little or no suggestion of heart ailment till his demise. Another fine officer, Lt Gen Amin Burki, a Principal Staff Officer at GHQ, had also died of heart attack, again without any previous hint of heart disease.
Given that good physical and mental health is the pre-requisite for sound leadership, whether it be political, civil or military, it must be incumbent upon leaders to take constant physical exercise and routine medical checks so as to ensure regular monitoring of their health. While golf was really started as a “leadership sport and recreation” by Field Marshal Ayub Khan and Gen Musa, in reality it was during late Gen Ziaul Haq’s tenure as COAS (and later simultaneously as President) that it commenced in earnest. Civil and military officers, followed closely by a flock of businessmen with business more than “rest and recreation” on their minds, congregated on the few golf courses in the country. As a social event golf also became a must professionally for the “upwardly-mobile” and was thus hardly a mental relaxation, except to the committed golfers, and even then only forcibly so in the presence of so many senior officers. Whatever the excuse, the establishment of golf as a professional man’s sport was good for our leaders through the spectrum, it gave them vitally needed exercise in an environment where squash, tennis and riding were becoming too strenuous on a regular basis. As such, partly by default, the civil and military hierarchy kept their health because it was the “done thing” for their ambitions. Since there are few votes to be had on the golf course, except of course a “line” to the powers-that-be, golf remains mostly without interest to our politicians.
Active exercise only reduces medical problems, divine nature remains a great equalizer. Heart ailment, cancer, diabetes, etc may all hit any human being despite the best physical exercise. Heart ailment and cancer are almost self-explanatory, so much is aired about these that it would be futile to repeat the symptoms, cause and effect. Needless to say a person having heart problems cannot stand stress, in today’s public life it would be 100% fatal to subject a person to that rigour. Similarly cancer being painful, as is its treatment, its effects are debilitating physically and mentally on the victim, playing psychological havoc on the mind of the individual and thus affecting decision-making. Easily concealed Diabetes affects all organs of the body directly or indirectly, particularly eyes, kidneys, heart and the nervous system, contributing towards STROKE and GANGRENE development. If the disease is not properly handled the negative effects could be very damaging. Stress (professional and personal) usually has damaging effect. Any stressful event may aggravate Diabetes which will, in a Catch-22, impair decision-making. Controllable but not curable, the patient remains under psychological strain to bear with Diabetes till the end of his day. This certainly mars the personality of the patient and causes irrational behaviour. In the Armed Forces decision-making has to be prompt and correct, the person has to be healthy and free of Diabetes. That is why a Diabetic becomes a low Medical Category in the Armed Forces — this is pragmatic.
While it is comforting to note that the Indian military hierarchy is a medically unfit bunch, it is more satisfying to note that they are collectively involved in criminally short-changing their own ability to perform for their nation by pulling rank to hide their various illnesses, some of them extremely fatal to stress. Using subterfuge and coercion, some of them also resorted to blackmail of the medical staff. This gives us reason to be extra-sensitive about our own leadership through the spectrum, to confirm that they are in good physical and mental health. Most of our leaders in the Armed Forces qualify the physical bench-mark, given the strict standards and professional competence of our Army Medical Corps (AMC). Drawing lessons from the Indian experience, there is every reason to believe that the odd rascal may resort to subterfuge (e.g switching urine samples) or blackmail of our doctors so as to subvert their correct opinion. Correlate an ability to misuse authority to a person of burning ambition having a track record of telling lies about supposed “enemies”, spreading false rumours about his colleagues, chicanery, etc and there is room for misdemeanour. While a bureaucrat having diabetes may become Federal Secretary without grave effect on the health of the nation as the nature of his job as related to stress would be within acceptable parameters, can one imagine a Corps Commander with diabetes and correlate that with taking rational decisions under stress affecting the lives of thousands? In a nightmare scenario, we will be lucky if he suffers a diabetic coma under the stress of war, that is why some may have been discreet and avoided action throughout their career. The Quaid-e-Azam knew he was dying but had sworn his physicians to secrecy about his fatal Tuberculosis (the X-Ray showed two shadows the size of golf balls in the lungs) but the reason was to keep Mountbatten and Nehru from using that knowledge to deliberately delay the Partition decision till he had passed away and thus circumvent his indomitable will for an independent nation for the Muslims. There is a difference between ambition for self and that for an entire nation.
Our leaders can regulate their health by constant physical exercise and empowering the supporting medical staff to take remedial action whenever necessary. Above all, since it concerns the well-being of the nation, these who resort to hiding such ailments at the altar of their ambitions to the detriment of the nation should be given exemplary punishment in proportion to their stature and appointment, including the cancellation of pension and all post-retirement benefits. If we can punish lowly soldiers for small misdemeanours, why not crucify a middle-level civil servant, even a colonel as for that matter a Lieutenant General for manipulating the truth by blackmailing/coercing medical staff? For the good of this country we must take stiff penal measures to root out leaders of all ilk having bad physical and mental health! This will act as an incentive to all our leaders to maintain good health or give way to others more physically fit to absorb stress and strain. Leadership and health must go together.
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