The Forum of Free Enterprise is a non-political organization founded in 1956 by A. D. Shroff, and has been established to educate public opinion in India on free enterprise and a democratic way of life. The Forum publishes booklets to further its objects. The following booklet is titled “The Mess We Are In”, written by N. A. Palkhivala, the essay is an eye opener for any reasonable reader. Not just time period specific analyses, the author has written it on a larger, wider conceptual grounding. He elucidates not just ‘what is’ but also, ‘what ought to be’. The essay strikes as a call to the people of India, to set their priorities while electing parties to power and to develop the right perspectives, if they wish to avoid the fall into the “abyss”.