.definitely the "leaders" were learning as well. shouting democratic slogans from khulla munch, or being jailed in sundarijal, or living in exile in banaras is a FAR, FAR cry from actually sitting in the leather chairs of singha darbar. the leaders could not have come with an "endowed" knowledge of what they should do and how they should act. it is very much a learning process for them too. and the fact that the leaders were making blunders from the get go (girija's, "yo jit panchayatko pani ho") at least as perceived by the public is proof/clarification that they were learning. .that you perceived them as democracy-gods is perhaps your fault? (mine as well, that was just a rhetorical remark.) the "uneducated people" (i hate that phrase) shoulda/coulda taught the ktm-bound bigwigs how to listen to them and instill some of the grassroots democratic flavor into the national system that was actually realized to a far greater degree at the local level.