Surendra Kumar Dey, (Sep. 13th, 1906 - May 24, 1989) was India's first Union Cabinet minister for Cooperation and Panchyati Raj. Mr. Dey is remembered as the man who pioneered and steered community development in independent India. He firmly believed that democracy cannot be practiced by government servants and stressed that the fruits of democracy ought to reach every village. Early life S. K. Dey was born on 13 September 1906 in Laxmibassa village in Sylhet district in present-day Bangladesh, Mr. Dey went on to study engineering at world-renowned institutions- Purdue University and Michigan in the United States of America. Dey was a son-in-law of the eminent nationalist leader, Bipin Chandra Pal. Career He began his career by serving as the Honorary Technical Advisor to the Ministry of Rehabilitation, Government of India (1948–51). It was in this post that Dey proved his mettle as a “social engineer” and was noticed by top government, including then-Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Tenure as Minister Dey's vitality and commitment to developing grassroots democracy prompted Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to hand over the reins of Rural Development in newly independent India to Mr. Dey. After Nehru's death, Dey resigned from the ministry and dedicated his time to build Panchayati Raj institutions in the country. As minister, his pet project was the Community Development Programme (1953) which would later form the basis of Community Development Blocks across the country. Mr. Dey's concept of community development was rooted in his belief that the community could help itself rather than looking “towards the government as Mai-Baap.” Mr. Dey's model of community development is characterized by a three-pronged strategy- development of the area, coordinated administration and development of the individual and the community. The first Community Development Project was undertaken in Etawah U.P in 1948. During 1952, 55 such projects were taken up across the country. Taking their success into account, the Community Development Programme was scaled up to all blocks in the country. Rural Township In 1949, Dey designed the concept of an agro-industrial township for rural development. The thrust of this model was its focus on a combination of agriculture and industrial development. The township would be provided support in terms of goods and services by surrounding villages. It would be self-sufficient and function on the basis of cooperation. This model materialized as the “Mazdoori Manzil” project in 1950, in Nilokheri, Haryana. The project benefitted 7000 homeless