Creating Dream Teams is a popular past-time among sports enthusiasts
across all sports. I thought I would take this concept and apply it to
politics, more specifically to governance. Here is my Dream Cabinet for
India, based totally on my opinion on who might hold a particular
portfolio with distinction.
Prime Minister
Lal Bahadur Shastri: Incorruptible, decisive and a truly humble man. He gets my vote for the Prime Ministerial post.
Home Minister
Vallabhai Patel: Need I say more? There are enough and more problems for the Sardar to tackle today.
External Affairs
Jawaharlal Nehru: He had a genuine world view which would help India in this day and age. He would need to stop being a touch holier than thou with the Americans though.
Finance Minister
Chakravarti Rajagopalachari: I would like to go totally off tangent here. My choice is Chakravarti Rajagopalachari. Not only was he erudite but he had the vision to talk about a liberal state (economically) at the height of Nehruvian socialism. The 21 point programme of the Swatantra party was a truly liberal document.
Defence Minister
Arun Singh: Extremely well read on matters military, he was even called in by Jaswant Singh at the height of the Kargil war, and upright.
Minister of Communications & IT and Science & Technology
Rajiv Gandhi: Those who knew him well called him extremely intelligent and level-headed. There is no doubt that he was the one who set the stone rolling for the telecom revolution that followed later. He was also clear that India needed the Service sector to progress. Something that we have clearly acknowledged now.
Minister of Railways
Madhav Rao Scindia: He handled the very same portfolio competently. Would make a great team with Bibek Debroy at the Rail Bhavan.
Minister of I&B and Parliamentary Affairs
Atal Behari Vajpayee: As politics gets more and more fractious the country needs someone who can reach out to everyone in Parliament. He is the right man for the job. Moreover we need a liberal minded person in the I&B ministry.
Minister of Law and Justice
Dr B. R. Ambedkar: Enough said.
Minister of Minority Affairs
Maulana Azad: We need someone extremely erudite and with stature across the country. The Maulana has both erudition and stature. Not just that, he steered the Education ministry in a newly independent India with aplomb. That would also help him in working on the low levels of education among India’s minorities.
Minister of Rural Development; Panchayati Raj; Drinking Water & Sanitation
Morarji Desai: A staunch Gandhian and inflexibly principled Morarjibhai handled the Revenue and Agriculture portfolio in the 1937 Bombay Government. He brought in far-reaching reforms in land revenue that helped the rural poor. Though he has handled other more ‘important’ portfolios like Finance, Commerce & Industry and was both Deputy PM and PM, given his background and conviction it is the Rural Development Ministry for him.
Minister of Agriculture and Food & Public Distribution
C Subramaniam: He helped usher in the Green Revolution. He would be the right person to handle Agriculture and its allied portfolio Food & Public Distribution.
Minister of Civil Aviation
Nitish Kumar: He capably handled the portfolios at the centre and has made a difference in governance in Bihar. Civil Aviation clearly needs a capable administrator and reformer. (Reformer because he needs to figure out what to do with Air India.) I believe he is both.
Environment
Jairam Ramesh: A feisty environment minister; he took on the builders lobby, industrialists and his own cabinet colleagues while enforcing environmental laws. Given the state of the environment, we require someone like him back at the helm of affairs.
Minister of Human Resource Development
PV Narasimha Rao: We need a scholar and we need a doer. He fits the bill. A consummate politician he was also a linguist, author and reformer. The ideal man to head this ministry at this stage in India.
Minister of Women & Child Development and Health & Family Welfare
Rajkumari Amrit Kaur: Minister of Health in the first cabinet, President of the WHO, driving force behind setting up the AIIMS. Quite an impressive resume that.
Tourism
Naveen Patnaik: Managed to pull Odisha out of economic doldrums and has been in power since 2000. He has not only demonstrated his political and administrative acumen but also shown his political side too in these past 15 years. Led a jet-setting life style, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Mick Jagger, Jackie Kennedy etc, till he returned to India in 1998. Just the right person to head this ministry.
Minister of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises and Infrastructure
Narendra Modi: And finally the man of the moment. Given his reputation as a doer and implementer he would be perfect for the Industries portfolio. Obviously the right person to see through the ‘Make in India’ policy. If he were to get his skills sets to play in upgrading public enterprises and infrastructure – road, ports and airports then we would be in kosher.
Prime Minister
Lal Bahadur Shastri: Incorruptible, decisive and a truly humble man. He gets my vote for the Prime Ministerial post.
Home Minister
Vallabhai Patel: Need I say more? There are enough and more problems for the Sardar to tackle today.
External Affairs
Jawaharlal Nehru: He had a genuine world view which would help India in this day and age. He would need to stop being a touch holier than thou with the Americans though.
Finance Minister
Chakravarti Rajagopalachari: I would like to go totally off tangent here. My choice is Chakravarti Rajagopalachari. Not only was he erudite but he had the vision to talk about a liberal state (economically) at the height of Nehruvian socialism. The 21 point programme of the Swatantra party was a truly liberal document.
Defence Minister
Arun Singh: Extremely well read on matters military, he was even called in by Jaswant Singh at the height of the Kargil war, and upright.
Minister of Communications & IT and Science & Technology
Rajiv Gandhi: Those who knew him well called him extremely intelligent and level-headed. There is no doubt that he was the one who set the stone rolling for the telecom revolution that followed later. He was also clear that India needed the Service sector to progress. Something that we have clearly acknowledged now.
Minister of Railways
Madhav Rao Scindia: He handled the very same portfolio competently. Would make a great team with Bibek Debroy at the Rail Bhavan.
Minister of I&B and Parliamentary Affairs
Atal Behari Vajpayee: As politics gets more and more fractious the country needs someone who can reach out to everyone in Parliament. He is the right man for the job. Moreover we need a liberal minded person in the I&B ministry.
Minister of Law and Justice
Dr B. R. Ambedkar: Enough said.
Minister of Minority Affairs
Maulana Azad: We need someone extremely erudite and with stature across the country. The Maulana has both erudition and stature. Not just that, he steered the Education ministry in a newly independent India with aplomb. That would also help him in working on the low levels of education among India’s minorities.
Minister of Rural Development; Panchayati Raj; Drinking Water & Sanitation
Morarji Desai: A staunch Gandhian and inflexibly principled Morarjibhai handled the Revenue and Agriculture portfolio in the 1937 Bombay Government. He brought in far-reaching reforms in land revenue that helped the rural poor. Though he has handled other more ‘important’ portfolios like Finance, Commerce & Industry and was both Deputy PM and PM, given his background and conviction it is the Rural Development Ministry for him.
Minister of Agriculture and Food & Public Distribution
C Subramaniam: He helped usher in the Green Revolution. He would be the right person to handle Agriculture and its allied portfolio Food & Public Distribution.
Minister of Civil Aviation
Nitish Kumar: He capably handled the portfolios at the centre and has made a difference in governance in Bihar. Civil Aviation clearly needs a capable administrator and reformer. (Reformer because he needs to figure out what to do with Air India.) I believe he is both.
Environment
Jairam Ramesh: A feisty environment minister; he took on the builders lobby, industrialists and his own cabinet colleagues while enforcing environmental laws. Given the state of the environment, we require someone like him back at the helm of affairs.
Minister of Human Resource Development
PV Narasimha Rao: We need a scholar and we need a doer. He fits the bill. A consummate politician he was also a linguist, author and reformer. The ideal man to head this ministry at this stage in India.
Minister of Women & Child Development and Health & Family Welfare
Rajkumari Amrit Kaur: Minister of Health in the first cabinet, President of the WHO, driving force behind setting up the AIIMS. Quite an impressive resume that.
Tourism
Naveen Patnaik: Managed to pull Odisha out of economic doldrums and has been in power since 2000. He has not only demonstrated his political and administrative acumen but also shown his political side too in these past 15 years. Led a jet-setting life style, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Mick Jagger, Jackie Kennedy etc, till he returned to India in 1998. Just the right person to head this ministry.
Minister of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises and Infrastructure
Narendra Modi: And finally the man of the moment. Given his reputation as a doer and implementer he would be perfect for the Industries portfolio. Obviously the right person to see through the ‘Make in India’ policy. If he were to get his skills sets to play in upgrading public enterprises and infrastructure – road, ports and airports then we would be in kosher.
1 comment:
I don't agree with u entirely. I feel Nehru was the best PM. A United India is his contribution.
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