K.Kamaraj a True Servant Leader-Part-2
The following are the characteristics of
Servant Leadership stated by Robert Greenleaf:
I.
Listening
II.
Empathy
III.
Healing
IV.
Awareness
V.
Persuasion
VI. Conceptualization.
VIII.
Stewardship
IX.
Commitment to growth of people.
X.
Building Community.
Let’s see how
Kamaraj exhibited the above characteristics in his leadership to build the
state and develop the people of Tamil Nadu.
1. Listening
You'll serve people
better when you make a deep commitment to listening intently to them and
understanding what they're saying. To improve your listening skills, give
people your full attention, take notice of their body language, avoid
interrupting them before they've finished speaking, and give feedback on what
they say.
Listening- The birth of midday meal scheme
The most
revolutionary change initiated by Kamaraj has proven to be the introduction of
the Midday Meal scheme, through which primary school children were provided
with one meal in panchayat and government-run institutions.
It is said this
scheme was inspired by an incident which took place when Kamaraj was at a train
intersection near the town of Cheran Mahadevi in Tirunelveli district of Tamil
Nadu. Kamaraj, while waiting for the train to cross, noticed young boys tending
to their goats and cattle. He asked one small boy, “What are you doing with the
cows? Why didn’t you go to school?”. The boy immediately answered, “If I go to
school, will you give me food to eat? I can learn only if I eat.”
The boy’s casual
yet insightful response triggered the entire process into establishing the
Midday Meal Scheme. The scheme was officially launched in 1956 with the twin
objectives of increasing enrolment and reducing drop-out. It is believed to be
the first such Government initiative anywhere in the world to provide lunch at
schools.
A research study (Rajan and Jayakumar, Economic
and Political Weekly, 1992)* conducted in Kanyakumari district has indicated
that the drop-out rate reduced from 40 per cent to 22 per cent and enrolment
rates for children between 6 and 11 years reached nearly 100 per cent during
the 1980s. Equally importantly, caste-wise analysis of the scheme has divulged
that it had a greater impact on the enrolment of students from section of
people.
Today, the scheme
started by Kamaraj, who dropped out of school at the age of 11, is estimated to
benefit a total of 11.77 crore students across the nation
His ability to
listen, his ability to allow the young child to question him and his love for
people is an example of why he is a servant leader
By: M.L. Narendra Kumar
Reference:
http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/blogs/southasiamasala/2010/07/25/k-kamaraj-and-the-mid-day-meal-scheme/
Photo Courtesy
https://tamil-desiyam.com/kamarajar-photos/
Good going
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