One of the best examples of a politician who overshadowed her party and became larger than the party is that of Indira Gandhi. She had her excesses and can certainly be accused of corrupting Indian polity in various ways. But it is undeniable that she was extraordinarily bold and decisive.When she entered politics she was taken lightly by the then Congress stalwarts and was dubbed Goongi gudiya (dumb doll). By the time she had acquired legendary status, Indira Gandhi was described as the invincible"Durga" by none other than Atal Bihari Vajpayee as leader of opposition in 1971.

That was the year when she had stood up to US pressure and had sent in the army into East Pakistan to create Bangladesh. Her other bold decisions were to impose the Emergency and launch Operation Blue Star in 1984 to flush out terrorists from the Golden Temple, for which she paid with her life. This was also the extraordinary woman who split the Congress vertically, waved her hand and gave birth to Congress (I)- the party as it exists today.

At major turning points in life, destiny calls upon you to take decisive action. There's no light in the tunnel; just a glimmer of hope, and the future is uncertain. What matters is whether you have the power of conviction, steely determination and the will to proceed, for better or worse.

One sees this typically in the lives of great personalities- for example, the famous train incident in South Africa when a certain Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was thrown out of the first class compartment. Early in life, a young Vinayak Bhave (later Vinoba), had decided he had no use for educational certificates and he took the extreme step of putting them in the fire. As a young man, Baba Amte's heart would not allow him to go home till he attended to a dying leper in the gutter. Every life has its turning points and there are choices to be made, often tough ones.

Maharashtra's most recent political spectacle revolved round the crisis of senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde: to leave or not leave the party? When an individual feels intensely throttled in an organisation, it is better to plan and leave quietly- not issue threats, not imagine that you are indispensable and not make a nuisance of yourself. The future may be tough in the new environment, but if you have the power of conviction, it is unlikely to be stifling.

A prominent OBC leader from Marathwada, Munde had almost got out of the shadow of his dynamic brother-in-law, the late Pramod Mahajan, and had created a place for himself in Maharashtra politics. Notwithstanding his denials, what was the recent turmoil all about, if not about him leaving the BJP to join the Congress?

Likemoving to a rival firm after 30 years experience, Munde expected to be rewarded adequately by the Congress. Comfort seemed to matter more than conviction.Therefore, when his expectations fell through, Munde faltered,decided to stay back in the BJP, and suffered considerable loss of face in the process.

When you lack the power of conviction, as is happening with the UPA's handling of the Lokpal and black money issues, it shows. All the more if you are in the public arena.

v_abhay@dnaindia.net