##gregious traditional hindu social evils. swami vivekananda was an intellectual leader par excellence. swamiji, as he is popularly known in bengal, not only interpreted hinduism for indians but also deciphered india ’ s religiosity to the larger world. his inspiring speech at the world parliament of religions at chicago in 1893 that started with “ sisters and brothers of america ” is considered an epitome of universal empathy. sri aurobindo synthesized eastern and western philosophies, religion, literature and psychology in his writings. gurudev rabindranath tagore, whose 150th birth anniversary we are celebrating this year, was a remarkably influential thought leader whose poignant prose and soul stirring poetry are a testimonial to his humanism and belief in universal brotherhood. netaji subhash chandra bose was a galvanizing force for national unity and inspired profound love and loyalty in the indian national army ( ina ). bengal also produced fearless revolutionaries like kshudiram bose who gave up their lives in the struggle for india ’ s independence. 9. this great leadership tradition of bengal was carried forward in post - independence india by luminaries like : satyajit ray, one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema, who put indian movies on the world celluloid map. his “ pather panchali ” set exacting standards for cinematic artistry and will go down in the history of cinema as one of the most poignant tales ever told. mother teresa became a household name the world over for her exemplary humanitarian work, her deep sympathy for the less privileged and less fortunate and her advocacy of the rights of the poor and helpless. bengal ’ s very own son, nobel laureate amartya sen, is today one of world ’ s bestknown public intellectuals who has applied a consistent approach in his influential studies on social choice, welfare measurement and poverty. bis central bankers ’ speeches more questions than answers 10. interestingly, at a conceptual level, all these leaders from bengal who influenced thought and action across space and time, and their diverse leadership styles raise more questions than answers : ( i ) what makes a leader? ( ii ) is there a standard template for leadership? are there any quintessential leadership qualities? ( iii ) are leaders born or made? in other words, can leadership be taught? ( iv ) are leaders contextual – products of space and time? 11. these are, of course

from british rule to independence and the division of the assets and liabilities of the reserve bank between india and pakistan consequent upon partition. he also helped smoothen the transition of the bank from a shareholder ’ s institution to a state owned organization, when the reserve bank was nationalized in january 1949. shri h. v. r. iengar, who succeeded sir chintaman, introduced deposit insurance for bank deposits in 1962, making india one of the earliest countries to experiment with deposit insurance. that other countries emulated this initiative is a testimony to shri iengar ’ s innovativeness and foresight. dr. l. k. jha, by far the most distinguished and accomplished civil servant to occupy the office of the governor, was responsible for giving a distinct development orientation to rbi policies. the reserve bank under dr jha ’ s leadership was an influential force in shaping landmark policies for the devaluation of rupee, the green revolution, social control followed by nationalization of 14 major commercial banks. dr. ig patel ’ s tenure as governor of rbi witnessed the demonetization of high denomination notes as well as the “ gold auctions ” conducted by the bank on behalf of government of india. dr. patel played a key role in negotiating imf assistance in 1981 to tide over the balance of payments constraints. all of us of course know the contributions of our hon ’ ble prime minister dr. manmohan singh who, after deftly steering the reserve bank as its governor, went on to become india ’ s finance minister and put india on a path of historic and path breaking economic reforms. dr. r. n. malhotra, who served as the governor during the rajeev gandhi years, gave a reform orientation to rbi. his tenure saw widening of the money market in india and introduction of new instruments recommended by the sukhomoy chakravarty committee on the monetary system and the vaghul working group on the money market. as the rbi governor, shri s. venkitaramanan played a leading role in managing india ’ s deepest balance of payments crisis in 1991. dr. c rangarajan will be remembered for beginning the historic process of financial sector reforms. through his leadership, dr. rangarajan showed how monetary policy has a key role in economic development. he will be most remembered for bringing an end to automatic deficit financing and thereby for setting the course for independent monetary policy. dr. bimal jalan ab