Building a Freedom Team for India
Dear All, it is my pleasure to publish this guest post by Sanjeev Sabhlok.
As you know, good governance in India is something very close to my heart. I am glad that Sanjeev has taken the initiative on this. A great deal of effort and clear-headed thinking has gone into this document.
Please do read and discuss it with your friends, acquaintances and everyone who is passionate about doing something for our country.
This topic deserves serious attention.
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����� I’d first of all like to thank Shantanu for giving me the opportunity to write this guest article. His blog raises a range of matters of concern from time to time and allows open and free discussion from a wide range of perspectives. I consider his blog to be a valuable contribution to the evolving culture of freedom in India. This article is about building a Freedom Team for India. I’ll summarise below what I mean. I hope that you will be interested in pursing it further. I’ll take queries on this blog.
����� The concept of Freedom Team is discussed at length in more detail in my book, “Breaking Free of Nehru” (preview available at: http://sanjeev.sabhlokcity.com/breakingfree.html). First, why Freedom? I show in my book that India is not as free as it should be. I argue that if India were to become more free, the first thing that would change dramatically would be its governance. We would get first-rate political leaders and bureaucrats and world class governance. Improved governance will immediately help India to get rid of corruption. It will create opportunities for entrepreneurship and provide high-quality education to all of India’s children. In this manner, but also directly, it will eliminate poverty.
����� None of this will happen on its own since the current crop of political and bureaucratic leadership is neither capable nor interested in such things. That India desperately needs good political representation focused on freedom is no longer in doubt. But it won’t happen on its own. On the other hand, merely jumping into politics with brash fervour will not solve any of India’s problems, either. There has to be a very systematic effort.
����� The process has to begin by people good and competent Indians stepping forward to take the message of freedom to the people; people willing to personally step forward to provide India with good governance through electoral politics. I suggest in my book that a Freedom Team should be formed at this stage to form the critical mass to kick-start a freedom movement (the previous one was not a freedom movement but an independence movement). When only good, selected, people are allowed to join and to continue, the Freedom Team will strengthen quickly. No person of poor moral character should be allowed to join; or if selected by accident, allowed to continue. Even one black sheep can destroy the Freedom Team’s good name.
����� An immediate goal would be to collect 1500 good persons. This will give roughly three outstanding leaders for each of India’s 550 constituencies. That way, if one of them can’t contest the elections at the last minute, then two others will be ready to stand up. And if that second one is killed by the mafia, then the third will stand up. Whoever is left will contest the local assembly elections. In this manner a good government will be formed in India, and the message of freedom taken to the state assemblies.  Hopefully, among a billion people, 1500 good people will be relatively easy to find. The Freedom Team should target that women should form half its membership.
����� Members of this group should meet the following criteria:
