Over time, offstumped is slowly walking towards stuff that is bordering on day dreaming. Congress has no love for middle class, in fact, everything Gandhi clan have ever done was to tax middle class and spend it…. no, not on poor people. If congress would encourage middle class, who would vote for it? It is the taxing of middle class and discouraging entrepreneurs in the name of socialism, that kept the country in shackles for a long time.

Perhaps it’s that the heir apparent doesn’t exactly want to hold public office ?
..
But then who says Sonia Gandhi is about to replace a non-politician with a career politician ?
…
Which brings us to the question of what kind of non-politician serves Nehru-Gandhi interests best ?
…
Hence the man running the business of government must be a technocrat in the Manmohan Singh mould to appeal to the Middle Class while not diluting the Nehru-Gandhi brand in the eyes of the BPL class.
…Which brings us to the question of which Technocrat might that be ?

Of all the technocrat lateral entrants to the Congress extended family, Nandan Nilekani has been the most low profile, keeping above controversies while maintaining a laser focus on his job. As a successful author with a reformist mindset and a wealth creator he is a middle class role model in the Manmohan Singh mould. He also is a unique position bridging Rahul Gandhi’s 2 India’s though the UID project.

If one were to hedge bets on the most likely non-politician to succeed Manmohan Singh it would be Nandan Nilekani – a choice with the potential to blow the wind of the sails of the Opposition.

Nandan Nilekani talks not just about India’s nagging problems, but also about its latent strengths in all walks of life, which remains to be fully explored and exploited. India has celebrated the rise of entrepreneurs, with grit and determination, who have thrived despite odds, overcoming numerous challenges in the form of bureaucratic hurdles, political turmoil and natural calamities. Nandan Nilekani’s “Imagining India” can be seen as a tribute to India – a nation full of promise amidst strife and chaos, often defying logic, and yet gradually emerging from its shadows, striving to unlock its potential to become a leading light.

Nandan Nilekani’s reflects on the legacy of India’s bonded past, which nevertheless has also given the nation a rich amalgamation of cultural traditions, arts and heritage.
This has also contributed uniquely in the transformation of ancient India, though not entirely without fits and starts, into a modern, developing economy.

The 1980s saw the telecom revolution taking the nation by storm. The 1990s saw IT in its new avatar with TCS, Wipro and Infosys propelling the nation in the global arena. The 21st century saw Delhi Metro emerging as the best run mass transit system, setting the bar for professional excellence in project execution. “Imagining India” talks about the rhetoric shifting from bare necessities to infrastructure creation.

If you love India, go ahead and read the book. You will start loving it even more!

Jayant Sinha
Dehradun