The Forum of Free Enterprise was a non-political organization founded in 1956 by A.D Shroff and was established to educate public opinion in India on free enterprise and a democratic way of life. The Forum published booklets to further its objects. The following booklet titled, “Warnings of History: Trends in Modern India” was published on June 7, 1957 and was authored by K M Munshi. This booklet contains a collection of essays by Munshi, that seeks to analyse the political trends of the 1950s from a historical perspective. The first essay, titled ‘Warnings of History’ discusses factors that lead to failure of states, through comparative analysis of different countries and time periods. The next essay, ‘Are We Failing Gandhi?’, places the trends of the 1950s’ political landscape within Gandhian ideology to analyse it. The third essay, ‘Despotism- Old and New’, discusses the evolution of the idea of a despot, and the actual historical examples of despots, concluding with an explanation of the modern manifestation of despotism in centralized, authoritarian states. The next essay directly addresses the ruling party, i.e. the Congress, and its objectives and the inherent problems and difficulties of achieving the same. The rest of the booklet talks about certain issues prevalent in the system and how this could lead to a crisis in democracy unless it’s effectively addressed.