Five minds for the future Indian leader

Inspired by Howard Gardner's five minds for the future (I haven't yet read the book. Really need to), I thought about writing the five minds for the future Indian leader. When I look at the top five, it seems to me that these minds are essential for any leader. But, I don't know what it takes to run Burkinafaso, so, I will stick to what I think is critical for that leader who is going to sail India through the rough times ahead of us.Actually, there are just two minds. The Rational/Analytical mind (Cortex) and the Emotional Brain (Amygdala). And all the minds I list below are really just a combination of these two. Now, I say they are midway between the two and not just a part of the Cortex, because an analytical or synthetic knowledge of the following(cortex) followed by a deep sense of commitment and Passion(emotional mind) towards each of these topics is essential to make the cut. And that will happen only in one who has a healthy rational and emotional mind.There were a number of contenders. I have listed a few that did not make it to my top five towards the end. There are a few others that I have not listed here, because I felt they were not as important or they could be learnt during the course.Environment: It is burning in Bangalore. And it is just the beginning of March. I have been here for five years now and I haven’t seen anything like this before. Like most of us, I have always known that we are disturbing our environment but was of the opinion that disaster is still a long way away. As a kid, I recollect reading about “El Nino” as early as my eighth grade. Until very recently (a year ago), I was still skeptical about the seriousness of the problem, motivated largely by alternative perspectives such as the Great Global Warming Swindle etc. But, now I am thoroughly convinced that this is a problem that needs attention at the highest levels, such as the leader of the second most populous country. And this is critical for a country that is largely (60% to be precise) agrarian and that has millions of people living in low lying areas (West Bengal, Kutch, Bangladesh).Economy: This is a country that is confused if it still is socialistic or if it has jumped over to the other side (capitalism). There is emphasis on both and hence the vision and strategy are quite mixed up. The younger generation seems to thoroughly love the reforms of the 1990s and the older generation wonders what was so wrong about their times. Some of the greatest institutions (Indian Railways, State Bank of India, IITs and IIMs) are all products of the socialist regime. A lot of our leaders still have heavy socialist influences. Combine this with the current or potentially current collapse of some countries (economies) built on Capitalism, One begins to wonder what the right thing to do is. I believe my leader should possess a clear understanding on the rationale behind Nehruvian theories and trends in globalization. The world is truly a global village and advances cannot be made without a big picture.Energy: This might seem a little off place here. Not many people talk of energy as an essential qualification for a leader. I remember sitting in my physics class and reading in my text book that our oil reserves will last only for twenty years, ten years ago. And the more you look (and read) around, the clearer it becomes that those times (Peak Oil, Volatility in the oil market, our increasing dependence) are already here. And unless my leader appreciates the grave energy situation we are in, none of his policies or infrastructural investments are going to make sense in the hard times that we all live (or going to live) in.Sociology: India is a Europe. It really is 28 cultures put together. There is a lot of literature around the complexity of the concept that India is. And the more you read, the more you know that any one person understands very little. I believe, only that person who sees the soft nuances of millennia of inter relationships between these numerous cultures & demographics from an outsider's perspective will be able to resolve, relate and communicate with them all. A vision that is inclusive, fair and free for one and all is the need of the hour. Put this in perspective that much of our resources are depleting and that a conflict of interest between civilizations is impending, you probably will realize that to provide solutions for the future, you need to understand the past.Technology: It might seem like I am technologist and hence I have a preferential bias towards technology as a future mind for my leader. But, it still makes sense to me. Investing in technology for the greater masses for inclusive governance and mitigating corruption & red-tapism is one thing. Understanding technology as a tool to access knowledge for insightful governance is another. And I want my leader to embrace both these ideas in a manner that is unique & Indian. I don’t really care if he reads his emails on Blackberry though.And one mind that did not make it into this list but I wish it did:Gandhi: I am fan of this man and I am not even one of the most well read(about him). But, understanding Gandhi still comes out as a no brainer for understanding India. No other man has travelled the lengths and breadths or spent so much time thinking about (and in some cases thinking for) this country as him. Nobody else’ ability to connect with the Indian Masses, consensual prowess or methodologies worked as best as his. And when one looks at the volatile global situation that we have ended up creating in the last half a century, Gandhi’s ideals (economic or otherwise) appear right more than ever.A few other minds that did not make into my list:LawHistoryLinguistics.Now, each one of these topics are huge & probably will require the attention of a life time for deep understanding. Unless my leader is a super hero, he is probably not going to be a master of all these five trades. The next best thing is to have a team of people who are experts in each one of these fields to be a part of the core decision making team.Alright, so this is what I want in my leader? But, is he out there?