In this essay, MR Masani evaluates the merit of Swatantra Party’s ideas and discusses the Party’s agenda in the February 1976 elections, listing qualifications for being a stronger candidate than Congress. Drawing inspiration from the Bible, Lincoln, and Gandhi, the Swatantra Party believed in limited government and trusting the conscience

The Social and Religious Decay was written by C. Rajagopalachari. It begins by explaining how one must have an innate desire to improve and help others. Any policy sabotaging these “social urges” is harmful. Emphasizing the role of free will, Rajagopalachari evaluates Congress’ policies as forceful, harming voluntary social cooperation

The Essence of Democracy was authored by Indian Parliamentarian and liberal thinker, Minoo Masani. It was originally published by the Harold Laski Institute of Political Science, Ahmedabad in March 1989. In the essay, Masani discusses several necessary conditions of a liberal democracy. In the Indian context, he discusses ideas of

Published by the Swatantra Party, Why Swatantra is a conjoined effort of C Rajagopalachari, NG Ranga, Minoo Masani and KM Munshi as they analyse with incisive logic the need for a new party and explain with great clarity the party’s fundamental philosophy and programmes. Why Swantantra? They answer: to save

M.R. Pai, Vice-President, Forum of Free Enterprise, Bombay inaugurated the first Rajaji Memorial Lecture on 5th December 1983 by talking on the subject of the Relevance of Rajaji’s Economic Thinking Today. Pai spoke about how freedom and democracy are essential for growth and development of a nation. Rajaji’s far-sighted economic

Edited by A.P. Jain and published by the Swatantra Party in 1963, Lawless Legislation is a compilation of speeches and articles by members of the Swatantra Party that shed light on why the party opposed the 17th amendment to the Constitution. The Seventeenth Amendment is to act as an authorization

Published by the Swatantra Party in the early 1970s, From Darkness to Light is a comic book that lays emphasis on the woes of Indian farmers and related agriculture practices and processes. The comic adopts the nature of a manifesto as the party lays down their proposed policies and ideas

Fundamental Rights: Our Fight Against Tyranny is a Swatantra Party publication that covered a 1967 speech delivered by MP Sriraj Meghrajji in the Parliament. The speech followed a 1967 Supreme Court judgement (I.C. Golaknath and others vs State of Punjab) that declared that it was not within the powers of

Published by the Swatantra Party in 1963, the Swatantra Alternative to the Third Plan is a pamphlet comprising of MR Masani and Professor NG Ranga’s Lok Sabha’s speeches during the course of discussion on the mid-term appraisal of the Third Plan in the Parliament on December 5, 1963. In addition

Swatantra Party Election Manifesto, 1967 did not only bring to the fore ineffective governance by the Congress in the previous decades, but also laid emphasis on “A New Government with a New Policy.” This new government with a new policy is what the Manifesto claimed to establish if the Swatantra