India is the biggest democratic country in the world. Democracy is the government of the people, for the people and by the people. It is undoubtedly a good system of government. In a democratic state, the whole power lies in the people. They are the real rulers because of their voting power. They control the government through their representatives. The fate of the country depends on good political leaders. It’s rightly said that if money is lost nothing is lost, if health is lost something is lost, if character is loss everything is lost.

There are certain qualities which a good leader must possess. A good leader must be honest, simple, hard-working, bold and selfless. He should love his country. He must be a man of good character. Character is the most important possessions of a good leader. If he is a man of loose character, he cannot influence the public. He must be honest, upright and truthful. He should set an example before others. A good leader is he who fulfills all his promises made to the public. He should not make false promises otherwise the public will loose its confidence in him.

A good leader should be selfless and must be prepared to make even the greatest sacrifice for his country. He should not work only for the benefits of his own-self, but he should work for the welfare of the whole society and country. Selfish and bad leaders can do great harm to the people and their country.

A good leader should be a man of strong will. He should be bold enough to face an adverse situation. He must be a good speaker. Only a good speaker can impress the people. He should ask the people to do only those things which he himself can do. There should be no difference between his principles and practice. He must say what he means; and mean what he does. He must be a good reformer. He should try to remove the prevailing social evils.

Today leaders are leading very luxurious life. The money they spend so lavishly is the money of the public. It’s not their own hence they should not waste public money for their personal use. Leaders are there to make public welfare not to exploit them.

In this way we find that a good leader plays an important role in social, political, economic and religious life of a nation. There is a dearth of good leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Tilak, Nehru, Sardar Patel and Indira Gandhi at present.