Is this the Gandhian moment for Ukraine?

As I write this today - one of the most inspiring leadership lessons is being written in Ukraine. To your surprise, I am not going to argue why this war started or whether the world deserves this war. Rather, Zelensky's actions got me thinking how leaders bring about change and reminisce some of what I have read and heard about Gandhi - and similarities between the their leadership styles.

I have always wondered, "How do leaders bring about the change they do?".

Mahatma Gandhi's leadership, before the Indian Independence, provides a well documented glimpse into this. Here are my key takeaways on this:

Extreme courage and being at peace with the outcome

Mahatma Gandhi displayed extreme courage by protesting against the government in a foreign country for the rights of foreigners. I am referring to his time in South Africa, where he fought for the rights of Indians living there. Over this 21 long years of journey he was jailed several times, unfazed. Eventually, the South African government passed the Indian Relief Act of 1914, improving the lives of many Indians in South Africa.

Leading by example and uniting people towards a goal

Along the 240 miles long walk to Dandi, Mahatma Gandhi brought together millions of people from remote Indian villages and educated them about the oppressive British Salt Law. This satyagraha led to an acknowledgement of the adverse British laws and kindled several other such movements across the country. His non-violent method meant that anybody and everybody could contribute towards the cause, making the movement bigger and bolder. He and his methods were one of the strongest catalysts in uniting people from 100's of different kingdoms, castes, religions and channelizing people's energy towards one goal - an independent India.

Is this the Gandhian moment for Ukraine?

By rejecting Washington's offer of exile, Zelensky has demonstrated extreme courage, quite contrary to popular expectation. And by staying back in the face of imminent execution, he is doing what he is preaching, while uniting his country to fight the invaders. As Franklin Foer puts it in this article on The Atlantic:

His (Zelensky's) willingness to die is testimony to the new Ukraine, which its people are now rallying to protect....?

When Zelensky rejected Washington’s offer of exile, he wasn’t making an obvious decision... In Ukraine, the decision for a leader to flee would be the expected choice. It’s what his predecessor, Vi, Viktor Yanukovych, did in the aftermath of the revolution in 2014...

And further he says:

There’s no airlift awaiting his (Zelensky's) fellow residents, so rather than accepting the perk of his position, he’s suffering in the same terror and deprivation that they are forced to endure.

It is this courage, leadership and togetherness towards a mission that changes the fate of nations and organizations alike. We are witnessing history in the making and who knows this indeed is the Gandhian moment for Ukraine.

Thank you for reading this far. Now that you are here, do share your favorite inspirational moments in the chat below and share this article.

References and inspiration:

A Prayer for Volodymyr Zelensky - The Atlantic by Franklin Foer, a staff writer at The Atlantic inspired me to start writing this. Some content/facts taken from The life of Mahatma Gandhi by Louis Fischer and I am Gandhi by Brad Meltzer. Images courtesy: FineArtAmerica and Time

About the author

Ashish Poddar?is a product manager currently working at Microsoft (Disclaimer: His views are his own). He is a tea-lover, which is why he started an?e-commerce portal,?Kadambri Teas?for delivering super-tasting?teas directly from Assam all over India. He has several years of experience working in scrappy startups, trying to cut the noise and making sense out of nonsense. An?MBA?from the ISB, Hyderabad and a psuedo-engineer from IIT Kharagpur, Ashish?is?passionate about?startups, reading and discussing history, philosophy and human behavior.?It's best to reach out to?him?on Linkedin, as he doesn't care much about tweeting, instagramming or whatsapping.