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The Indian Libertarian
The Indian Libertarian

The Indian Libertarian was a fortnightly journal, which was first published in the year 1957 by R B Lotvala and edited by his daughter Kusum R Lotavala. The journal defines its philosophy by stating, “As the name Indian Libertarian signifies, we stand for libertarianism as against totalitarianism and authoritarianism of any kind, whether from the right or the left. Libertarianism relates to the whole field of human actions and relations and implies a definite general attitude to all social relations and all aspects of individual action”.

Some of the prominent and knowledgeable Libertarians including C Rajagopalachari, M A Venkata Rao, M N Tholal were frequent contributors to the journal. The Indian Libertarians were ardent supporters of the cause of freedom and liberty. In one of their publications the journal states “…socialism and Marxism are discarded doctrines. It is a national tragedy and that is what the Indian Libertarian, in its own way, is fighting against. It is not yet a Lost cause. It is a Live cause.”

The Indian Libertarians clearly stated their support for English as the national language by using the slogan “Make English the Lingua Franca of India” on the front page of their publications. The journal had highly intellectual pieces and series of articles under its Economic Supplement which engaged the readers with various vital economical issues such as Inflation, perils of Central Planning, critiques of annual budgets and various laws and policies of the then government.

Issues

The Indian Libertarian (January 1, 1959)

‘The Indian Libertarian’ was a fortnightly journal, founded in 1954 by Indian liberal, Ranchhoddas Bhuvan Lotwala, and edited by his daughter Kusum R Lotwala. This edition (Vol. 6, No. 20) of the journal was published on January 1, 1959. This edition is being published in the midst of the Sino-Soviet split and hence, quite a...

The Indian Libertarian (June 1, 1960)

‘The Indian Libertarian’ was a fortnightly journal, founded in 1954 by Indian liberal, Ranchhoddas Bhuvan Lotwala, and edited by his daughter Kusum R Lotwala. This edition (Vol. 8, No. 5) of the journal was published on June 1, 1960. The editorial covers the Summit Conference of 1960, developments in the Russia-Pakistan relations as well as...

The Indian Libertarian (September 1, 1958)

‘The Indian Libertarian’ was a fortnightly journal, founded in 1954 by Indian liberal, Ranchhoddas Bhuvan Lotwala, and edited by his daughter Kusum R Lotwala. This edition (Vol. 6, No. 12) of the journal was published on September 1, 1958. Like other editions this too equally splits the focus between international and domestic issues. Contributors to...

The Indian Libertarian (September 15, 1958)

‘The Indian Libertarian’ was a fortnightly journal, founded in 1954 by Indian liberal, Ranchhoddas Bhuvan Lotwala, and edited by his daughter Kusum R Lotwala. This edition (Vol. 6, No. 13) of the journal was published on September 15, 1958. The editorial of this edition focuses exclusively on Pakistan and bilateral relations with India. The Libertarian...

The Indian Libertarian (March 15, 1957)

‘The Indian Libertarian’ was a fortnightly journal, founded in 1954 by Indian liberal, Ranchhoddas Bhuvan Lotwala, and edited by his daughter Kusum R Lotwala. This edition (Vol. 5, No. 2) of the journal was published on March 15, 1957. The editorial covers Nehru’s foreign policy stance along with several criticisms of the same. An article...

The Indian Libertarian (April 1, 1957)

The fortnightly journal titled Indian Libertarian was founded in 1954 by Indian liberal, Ranchhoddas Bhuvan Lotwala, and edited by his daughter Kusum R Lotwala. The first April’57 edition was published amid the time of elections’ results and featured several articles that focused on the future of India in the hands of the then winning party....

The Indian Libertarian (April 15, 1957)

The fortnightly journal titled Indian Libertarian was founded in 1954 by Indian liberal, Ranchhoddas Bhuvan Lotwala, and edited by his daughter Kusum R Lotwala. The second April ’57 edition was published amid the time of debauching the then Indian Economy and featured several articles focusing on the road ahead. M.A. Venkata had focused on the...

The Indian Libertarian (May 1, 1957)

The fortnightly journal titled Indian Libertarian was founded in 1954 by Indian liberal, Ranchhoddas Bhuvan Lotwala, and edited by his daughter Kusum R Lotwala. The first May’57 edition was published amid the time when India was contravening her own declared policy of non-intervention and non-alignment and was in a need of being revolutionized. M.A. Venkata...

The Indian Libertarian (May 15, 1957)

The fortnightly journal titled Indian Libertarian was founded in 1954 by Indian liberal, Ranchhoddas Bhuvan Lotwala, and edited by his daughter Kusum R Lotwala. The second May’57 edition was published amid the times of theocratic fanaticism and longing for world peace.  M.A Venkata Rao had emphasized this and hoped for a change in the stagnant...