Dear Sir,

"We end today a period of ill fortune and India discovers herself again. The achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of opportunity, to the greater triumphs and achievements that await us. Are we brave enough and wise enough to grasp this opportunity and accept the challenge of the future?"
Jawaharlal Nehru
Indian Declaration of Independence, on eve of independence, August 15 1947.

You are one of the world's most respected economists and leading this country to new horizons, to become the next super-power. I am sure, as Nehruji states, greater triumphs and achievements await us...but somehow sir, all is not well.

I am sure you are aware that the enemy within, is far more vicious and damaging than the enemy without. I am sure you must see how close to collapse our political system is, and how the gap between the rich and the poor is increasing by the day. And, of course, you would know for a fact that whenever the government introduces a scheme, it will ultimately not benefit those it was intended for, because most of the funds would have been siphoned off by corrupt middlemen.

Our airports are too small, our roads with too many potholes, our very existence is squeezed by constant inflation, rising unemployment and the ever-present threat of internal terrorism.

So, are we brave enough and wise enough to grasp this opportunity and accept the challenge of the future? I am not asking this, the first PM of India is. And, if you do not have an answer to this one then who does?