A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF CRISIS MANAGEMENT AND INSTITUTIONAL RESILIENCE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF LEADERSHIP IN THE INDIAN SCENARIO

ABSTRACT The growing vulnerability of India to natural catastrophes, population health crises, and industrial disasters has added pressure on the crisis governance and leadership systems. Even though there are elaborate statutory mechanisms provided under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, there are still serious institutional and leadership failures in the event of high-impact crises. This paper looks at the role of leadership ambiguity, poor adaptive capacity and poor psychological resiliency in undermining the institutional effectiveness in managing crisis in India. It takes the approach of doctrinal research of law in order to study statutory frameworks on crisis response including the Disaster Management Act, 2005, operation of the National Disaster Management Authority, State Disaster Management Authorities and the National Crisis Management Committee as well as judicial response to significant crises such as industrial disasters and emergency in relation to health. The review shows that there are structural deficiencies in statutory interpretation, coordination requirements and accountability arrangements that lead to fragmented crisis governance. The article is an addition to the study of law, combining leadership theory and crisis law, constitutional requirements pursuant to Article 21 and administrative responsibility principles. It proposes a rebalanced legal policy that entrenches adaptive leadership, decentralized power, and multi-stakeholder coordination in the crisis management regime in India. Keywords: Crisis Management; Disaster Law; Institutional Resilience; Leadership; India.