Factors in Leadership: The Social and the Individual

the age of handicrafts to that of the machine. Had Aurangzeb known of this development, he could have set up printing press in India rather than engaging himself in making copies of the Quran by hand. Cambridge University was established in 1571, while the University of Paris and the University of Oxford were established much before that—in the 12th century. Aurangzeb reigned in the 17th century. How much better it would have been had he focused on a much more important task—that of establishing a major university in India for all the various branches of knowledge! He could have set up centres to research in various contemporary disciplines. He could have established a centre in Delhi to translate essential works by European scholars. He could have formed an academy of religious scholars who could have acquired knowledge of modern subjects and engaged in research on them. However, he failed to engage in any such endeavour. Moreover, the simple reason for this was that he did not agree to observe the distinction in the spheres of activity mentioned above, that is, between the religious leaders, on the one hand, and the political leaders, on the other.