NEW DELHI: Pranab Mukherjee returns to a job he did almost a decade ago. Of course, the task of running India's foreign policy has become more demanding since Mr. Mukherjee was External Affairs Minister from February 1995 to May 1996.

India will have a stand-alone External Affairs Minister after nearly 11 months when Natwar Singh was shifted out of the job in the wake of the Volcker committee report on the Iraqi oil-for-food scandal.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was smart in entrusting to Mr. Mukherjee, when he was Defence Minister, sensitive diplomatic tasks, including leading India's delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in New York last month.

There's little doubt that Mr. Mukherjee is a seasoned politician and has been in government, with a couple of breaks, from 1973 onwards when appointed Deputy Minister for Industrial Development by Indira Gandhi.

The first-time Lok Sabha M.P. from Jangipur in West Bengal has worked as Finance Minister, Commerce Minister, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, apart from his just-ended stint as Defence Minister.

Mr. Mukherjee's impressive curriculum vitae tells us that being elected to the Rajya Sabha (the first time in 1969) has not detracted from his holding not just heavy-duty governmental responsibilities, but key political jobs as well.

The politician from West Bengal, whose CV describes him as a teacher, journalist and author, has been the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha from 1980 to 1985 and member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) from January 1978 to January 1986 and then again from August 1997 till date.

Mr. Mukherjee, who has been heading a large number of Groups of Ministers set up by Dr. Singh, has also been Chairman of All-India Congress Committee (AICC) campaign committees for four Lok Sabha elections — in 1984, 1991, 1996 and 1998.

Long overdue

The Prime Minister's decision to appoint an External Affairs Minister was long overdue given that Dr. Singh himself was holding the portfolio. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso was one of the few "full" Foreign Ministers who visited India earlier this year in the absence of a counterpart.

With the changing face of diplomacy and increasing multilateral commitments, India can't really do without an External Affairs Minister, who should be able to both travel abroad and receive visitors at home.

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